HP StorageWorks XP24000 Thin Provisioning Software User's Guide Part number: T5227–96001 First edition: June 2007
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Contents About this Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intended Audience . . . . . . . . . . Related Documentation . . . . . . . . Document Conventions . . . . . . . . Conventions for Storage Capacity Values Window Illustrations . . . . . . . . . HP Technical Support . . . . . . . . . Subscription Service . . . . . . . . . HP Websites . . . . . . . . . . . . Documentation Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Installing and Uninstalling XP Thin Provisioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Installing XP Thin Provisioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Uninstalling XP Thin Provisioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Using the XP Thin Provisioning GUI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pool Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V-VOL Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Figures 1 ..Effects of XP Thin Provisioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 2 ..Relationship Between Pools and V-VOLs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 3 ..Using XP Thin Provisioning and Business Copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 4 ..Example of the Changes in the Pool Usage Rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 5 ..Managing Usage Rates and I/Os . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 6 ..Pool Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tables 1 ..Document Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 2 ..XP Thin Provisioning Advantages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 3 ..XP Thin Provisioning Support Configuration 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 4 ..Program Products that can be Used in Conjunction with XP Thin Provisioning . . . . . . 19 5 ..Program Products that cannot be Used in Conjunction with XP Thin Provisioning . . . . . 19 6 ..
About this Guide This document provides instructions for installing and using the Remote Web Console web client Java applet program for the HP storage system. The term storage system in this guide refers to an HP StorageWorks XP24000 Disk Array. Intended Audience This document assumes the following: • The user is familiar with the operating system and web browser software on the system hosting the Remote Web Console software.
Document Conventions Table 1 Document Conventions Convention Element Blue text: Table 1 Cross-reference links and e-mail addresses Blue, underlined text: http://www.hp.
Subscription Service HP recommends that you register your product at the Subscriber’s Choice for Business website: http://www.hp.com/go/e-updates After registering, you will receive e-mail notification of product enhancements, new driver versions, firmware updates, and other product resources. HP Websites For additional information, see the following HP websites: • http://www.hp.com • http://www.hp.com/go/storage • http://www.hp.com/service_locator • http://www.hp.
About this Guide
1 Overview of HP StorageWorks XP Thin Provisioning Software XP Thin Provisioning is a program product that enables you to reduce the installation cost and the cost of volume management. In XP Thin Provisioning, the V-VOL (virtual volume) is used to reduce the installation cost and the cost of management. XP Thin Provisioning Features XP Thin Provisioning allows customers to allocate virtual disk storage based on their anticipated future needs, but with fewer physical disks initially required.
Figure 1 Effects of XP Thin Provisioning Because you need to create volumes with the same capacity when you define volumes, you can incur initial installation and costs and expenses that are not needed at the time. In the first example, without XP Thin Provisioning, the used volume capacity will exceed 80% within a year, requiring you to restructure the system when you add capacity. XP Thin Provisioning decreases the cost to obtain the same volume capacity.
Table 2 XP Thin Provisioning Advantages Advantages With XP Thin Provisioning Without XP Thin Provisioning Reduced installation cost You can define volumes that are larger than the actual disk capacity, which reduces the initial installation cost. This may vary depending on the OS or file system. For more information, see Operating System and File System Capacity on page 31. You must predict future usage and purchase capacity that will not be used until later.
Overview of HP StorageWorks XP Thin Provisioning Software
2 About XP Thin Provisioning Operations In XP Thin Provisioning, the storage system stores and manages data on a volume in a pool by using V-VOLs. This chapter describes the pools and V-VOLs used by XP Thin Provisioning, and then describes the XP Thin Provisioning functions. XP Thin Provisioning Components Pool-VOLs, pools, V-VOLs, volumes, and XP Thin Provisioning software are related to XP Thin Provisioning. Pool and Virtual Volumes XP Thin Provisioning stores pool-VOL data in a pool by using V-VOLs.
Figure 2 Relationship Between Pools and V-VOLs XP Thin Provisioning Software You can perform XP Thin Provisioning operations on an HP StorageWorks XP Remote Web Console computer. The Remote Web Console computer is connected to the storage systems via the TCP/IP local-area network (LAN). The Remote Web Console computer communicates and exchanges data directly with the service processor (SVP) of the connected storage systems.
Creating the V-VOL Management Area Before you can use XP Thin Provisioning, you must have a V-VOL management area, which is used to associate a V-VOL with a pool-VOL. The V-VOL management area is created automatically when the required additional shared memory is installed by your HP service representative. Creating Pools A pool consists of one or more pool-VOLs. 256 pool-VOLs can be registered in a pool, and 32 pools can be created in a storage system.
One method you will use to monitor pool capacity is setting thresholds. Once a threshold is exceeded, a SIM (Service Information Message) is issued, and a trap is reported to SNMP. For more information about SNMP traps, see HP StorageWorks XP24000 SNMP Agent Reference Guide. You can monitor pool capacity directly by using the XP Thin Provisioning window (see “XP Thin Provisioning Window” on page 38. For details about monitoring and tuning resources, see “Monitoring and Tuning Resources” on page 21.
Table 4 Program Products that can be Used in Conjunction with XP Thin Provisioning Program Products Explanation Business Copy • You can use a V-VOL as a P-VOL or S-VOL. For details, see “Business Copy” on page 19. • You cannot use a pool-VOL as a P-VOL or S-VOL. HP StorageWorks XP LUN Manager • You can use this program product to make settings on V-VOLs as well as normal LDEVs. • You cannot use this program product to make settings on pool-VOLs. LUN Security The same as above.
Backup differential data Restore differential data P-VOL S-VOL （V-VOL） （V-VOL） Figure 3 Using XP Thin Provisioning and Business Copy When you use both XP Thin Provisioning and Business Copy, you can copy V-VOLs. The following table shows XP Thin Provisioning and Business Copy volume combinations.
• The maximum possible total number of XP Snapshot pools and XP Thin Provisioning pools is 32. • XP Thin Provisioning pool-VOLs cannot be used as XP Snapshot pool-VOLs, and vice versa. Monitoring and Tuning Resources This section describes the function to accumulate statistical information, such as the information shown in “XP Thin Provisioning Window” on page 38 and the information displayed in Performance Monitor, and describes the function to support XP Thin Provisioning management.
Figure 4 Example of the Changes in the Pool Usage Rates Performance Management You can implement performance management of V-VOLs as follows.
Figure 5 Managing Usage Rates and I/Os By copying high-workload V-VOL data to low-workload pools using Business Copy, you can balance the workload of pools. Thresholds XP Thin Provisioning monitors V-VOL and pool used capacity using thresholds. V-VOL capacity is monitored using free space because V-VOL capacity is lower than pool capacity in general use. XP Thin Provisioning monitors the pool used capacity in two phases.
• Pool threshold1: You can set the pool threshold between 5% and 95% in 5% increments. The default value is 70%. • Pool threshold2: This value is always 80% and cannot be changed. SIMs XP Thin Provisioning has five SIMs (Service Information Messages) to inform users of the V-VOL and pool status. SIM levels are all Moderate. The next table describes the SIM codes. When the events in the table occur, XP Thin Provisioning outputs SIMs and warns users, and reports trapping to SNMP.
Pool Status The next table shows the pool statuses that you can display using Remote Web Console. However, you cannot display the V-VOL status because the V-VOL status is only normal. Table 9 Pool Status Status Meanings SIM Codes Normal Pool usage rate is lower than the pool threshold. None Warning Pool usage rate exceeds either the variable or the fixed pool threshold. 620XXX or 621XXX (XXX is pool ID) Blocked Pool is full or error occurred in the pool.
About XP Thin Provisioning Operations
3 Preparing for XP Thin Provisioning Operations This chapter describes the requirements and restrictions for using XP Thin Provisioning and instructions for installing and uninstalling XP Thin Provisioning. Please read this chapter before you start the operation of XP Thin Provisioning. Requirements and Restrictions For XP Thin Provisioning operations, you need the storage system, including volumes, and the license key for XP Thin Provisioning enabled on Remote Web Console.
Table 10 Pool-VOL Requirements Item Requirement Volume type Logical volume (LDEV) Note: Separating normal volumes and pool-VOLs into different parity groups is recommended for best performance.
Table 11 Pool Requirements Item Pool capacity Requirement 8 GB to 286 TB per pool The capacity of the pool is calculated by the following formulas: The capacity of the pool (MB) = total page number × 42 − (4116 + 84 × pool-VOL number) Total page number = Σ(↓↓block number of pool-VOL ÷ 512↓ ÷ 168↓) ↓ ↓: Truncate the part of the formula between the arrows after the decimal point.
Table 12 V-VOL Requirements Item Requirement Volume type V-VOL. The LDEV number is the same as for normal volumes. Emulation type OPEN-V Servers (including RAID Manager) will show you the emulation type of the V-VOLs with 0, such as OPEN-0V. Maximum number 4096 volumes per pool 1024 volumes per volume group 63232 volume groups per system Volume capacity 46 MB to 2 TB per volume 1.1 PB per storage system maximum Threshold V-VOL threshold: Default value is 5% of unused pool capacity.
Shared Memory Requirements XP Thin Provisioning requires its own dedicated shared memory for the V-VOL management area, which is separate from the shared memory for XP Snapshot. The required shared memory will be installed by your HP service representative. Operating System and File System Capacity Certain combinations of operating systems and file systems can reduce the file system capacity for XP Thin Provisioning. The following table shows the effects of these combinations.
the pool capacity, which is as much as 42% of the V VOL capacity, will be used when you create the file system. Notes on Reducing the Pool Capacity You cannot delete pool-VOLs that have previously been registered in a pool. To decrease pool capacity, you need to create another pool or delete the pool-VOLs themselves, and recreate a pool. Notes on Switching Off the Power Supply Before you switch off the power supply while XP Thin Provisioning is running, stop the host I/O operations first.
4 Using the XP Thin Provisioning GUI To use XP Thin Provisioning, click Volume Manager on Remote Web Console’s starting menu. Among the displayed windows, only the Pool window and the V-VOL window are the windows used in XP Thin Provisioning. If you click File and Reports on the menu bar of the Remote Web Console main window, the Report Display window will appear.
• total This indicates the total capacity (GB) of all the pools in use and the pools that can be created. The capacity of the pools that can be created is derived from the available capacity of the shared memory. Available pool capacity decreases when a V-VOL is added and increases when a V-VOL is deleted. Caution: The value displayed for Total Capacity in the Pool Information box and the value displayed for Pool Mng. Capacity : used are approximately equal, but there may be some difference.
• • • • • • PG: parity group to which the pool-VOL belongs • Int. VOL Info: hard disk drive type of the volume When you specify an internal volume whose hard disk drive type is FC, this column is blank. In view of performance, HP recommends that you specify the same hard disk drive type for pool-VOLs registered in the same pool. • Ext. VOL Info: hard disk drive type of the external volume A hyphen (-) is displayed when the volume is an internal volume.
• • • • • Threshold 2: threshold for pool usage rate (%) Default setting is 80%, and it cannot be changed. • Attribute: program product that uses the pool • XP Thin Provisioning: XP Thin Provisioning • XP Snapshot: XP Snapshot • CLPR: CLPR number to which the pool belongs Initialize button If there is no pool in the storage system, this button initializes the entire V-VOL management area.
Figure 7 V-VOL Window Note: When you create V-VOLs in the V-VOL window, you create a V-VOL group and create the V-VOLs in the group. When you delete V-VOLs, you delete a V-VOL group including all the V-VOLs in the group. To add V-VOLs to an existing V-VOL group, or if you want to delete only certain V-VOLs from an existing V-VOL group, use the Virtual LVI/LUN function. To use the Virtual LVI/LUN function, you need a license for this function.
Table 15 V-VOL Window Pop-up Menu Commands Function Command Menu When you right-click the XP Thin Provisioning icon New V-VOL Group Opens the New V-VOL Group dialog box (Figure 13 on page 49). When you right-click the V-VOL Group icon Delete V-VOL Group Deletes the V-VOL group and the V-VOLs that are in that V-VOL group. Connect Pool Displays the Connect Pool dialog box (Figure 17 on page 55). Release Pool Releases the XP Thin Provisioning pool.
The following figure shows an example of the XP Thin Provisioning window when you select the LDKC:CU radio button. Figure 8 XP Thin Provisioning Window (when you select the LDKC:CU radio button) The following figure shows an example of the XP Thin Provisioning window when you select the Pool radio button.
Figure 9 XP Thin Provisioning Window (when you select the Pool radio button) • CU or Pool: selection options Select the key information for displaying TP-VOL information in the TP-VOL detailed information table. • LDKC:CU: Displays TP-VOL information by selecting the LDKC number or CU number as the key. • Pool: Displays TP-VOL information by selecting Pool ID as the key.
• • • • • Emulation: emulation type of the TP-VOL Capacity: capacity (GB) of the TP-VOL Parity Group: number of the parity group in which the volume is registered Usage Rate: proportion of the used TP-VOL capacity to the total TP-VOL capacity (%) Threshold: threshold for issuing a warning about the free capacity of the TP-VOL Threshold is displayed between 5% and 300% in 5% increments. • Paths: the number of LDEV paths The number of LDEV paths is displayed between 0 and 65280.
Using the XP Thin Provisioning GUI
5 Performing XP Thin Provisioning Operations This chapter describes the operations and the windows for XP Thin Provisioning. Using XP Thin Provisioning The following flow chart illustrates the procedures for using XP Thin Provisioning. Figure 10 XP Thin Provisioning Flow Chart Note: Before creating a pool, it is required that the V-VOL management area be created in the shared memory. The V-VOL management area is automatically created when the additional shared memory is installed.
Note: Only the storage administrator can perform 1. Preparing for operations, 2. Operating (Adding pool-VOLs), and 3. Discontinuing operations. Managing Pools This section describes the procedures to manage the pool: • • • • Creating pools Changing the pool settings Deleting pools Recovering pools Creating Pools The required time for creating pools depends on the number and the capacity of the pools and pool-VOLs that you add to the pool.
14. Click Apply. A confirmation message is displayed asking if it is OK to apply the setting to the storage system. Caution: You cannot delete pool-VOLs after you add them. So, check and make sure that the settings of the pool-VOLs you are going to add are correct. 15. Click OK. The confirmation message closes, and the new pool information is applied to the storage system. 16. Click Initialize in the Pool window.
A pop-up menu is displayed. Note: If the pool usage rate is 95% or higher, the pop-up menu will not be displayed. 3. Select Change Pool Information from the pop-up menu. The Change Pool Information dialog box (Figure 12 on page 46) is displayed. 4. Select the value for the threshold from the Threshold drop-down list. Note: In the drop-down list, only the values that are higher than the pool usage rate are displayed. 5. Click Set. The Change Pool Information dialog box closes. 6. Click Apply.
Deleting Multiple Pools To delete multiple pools: Caution: If you execute the following operation, all the pools that can be deleted will be deleted. If there is any pool that you do not want to delete, you must delete one pool at a time by following the steps in “Deleting a Pool” on page 46. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Change the mode of the Remote Web Console to Modify. If the mode is already changed to Modify, you can skip this step.
4. Click OK. The icons for the pools change to indicate normal pools. 5. Click Apply. A confirmation message is displayed asking if it is OK to apply the setting to the storage system. 6. Click OK. The confirmation message closes, and the restoration of the pools is applied to the storage system. Managing V-VOLs This section describes the procedures for managing V-VOLs.
12. Enter the number of V-VOLs you want to create in the Number of V-VOL text box. Note: You can enter only a whole number from 1 to 1,024 in this text box. 13. Click Set. The volumes are added to the V-VOL information setting list (middle of the window). To create more V-VOLs, repeat steps 9 through 13. Note: You cannot add new V-VOLs to the V-VOL group after you complete the operations to create the V-VOLs. Make sure that you add enough V-VOLs at this point. 14. Click Next.
• V-VOL Group drop-down list You can select or enter the V-VOL group ID in the drop-down list. A whole number from 1 to 65,535 can be selected or entered in the drop-down list. Note: Do not enter a V-VOL group ID that is already used by another V-VOL group. If you enter a V-VOL group ID that is already used by another V-VOL group and click Next, an error message will be displayed. In that case, select or enter a different number for the new V-VOL group ID.
• • • • • • • • • • The V-VOL group ID that you set in the New V-VOL Group dialog box is displayed. Emulation Type drop-down list You can select the emulation type of the V-VOL. Capacity Unit drop-down list You can select the unit of capacity of the V-VOL: MB (megabyte), block, or Cyl (cylinder). Capacity text box You can enter the capacity of the V-VOL in the text box. If you selected MB from the Capacity Unit drop-down list, you can enter a whole number from 46 to 2,097,152.
Figure 15 Create V-VOL Wizard Dialog Box (2) The Create V-VOL wizard dialog box (2) displays the following items: • V-VOL information setting list (upper-right area of the dialog box) Information about the V-VOL(s) that you are going to create is displayed. • No.: number • V-VOL Group: V-VOL group ID • Emulation: emulation type of the V-VOL • Capacity: capacity of the V-VOL • LDCK:CU:LDEV: LDKC number, CU number, and LDEV number of the V-VOL A V-VOL for XP Thin Provisioning has an LDEV number followed by X.
• • • • Gray cells indicate LDEV numbers that are already used for other volumes, white cells indicate unused LDEV numbers, and blue cells indicate LDEV numbers that are selected for the V-VOLs in this dialog box. CU number of another SLPR is used. check box Allows you to select the CU numbers of an SLPR other than the SLPR you are in. Back button Returns to the Create V-VOL wizard dialog box (1) while maintaining the settings in this dialog box.
• LDKC:CU:LDEV: LDKC number, CU number, and LDEV number of the V-VOL • Back button Returns to the Create V-VOL wizard dialog box (2) while maintaining the settings in this dialog box. • OK button Fixes the setting in the Create V-VOL wizard dialog box (3), and closes the dialog box. • Cancel button Cancels the setting in the Create V-VOL wizard dialog box (3), and closes the dialog box.
Figure 17 Connect Pool Dialog Box The Connect Pool dialog box displays the following items: • Pool ID Displays the pool ID. • Status Displays the status (normal or blocked) of the pool. • Total Capacity Displays the total capacity (GB) of the pool (the value is truncated to 2 decimal places). • Used Capacity Displays the used capacity (GB) of the pool (the value is truncated to 2 decimal places). • Threshold Displays the threshold for the pool usage rate (%).
Figure 18 Change Threshold Dialog Box The Change Threshold dialog box displays the following items: • Threshold drop-down list You can select the value of the threshold (%) for the V-VOL from the drop-down list. The value will be within 5% to 300% in 5% increments. • Set button Determines the threshold set for the V-VOL, and displays the V-VOL window. The pool ID that has been selected will be set to the V-VOL window. • Cancel button Cancels all the settings, and returns to the V-VOL window.
2. 3. 4. 5. 6. If the mode is already changed to Modify, you can skip this step. For information on how to change the mode, see the HP StorageWorks XP24000 Remote Web Console User’s Guide. In the V-VOL group tree of the V-VOL window, select and right-click the V-VOL group that contains the V-VOL(s) you want to delete. A pop-up menu is displayed. Note: If the V-VOL group that you want to delete is associated with a pool ID, you cannot delete the V-VOL group.
Performing XP Thin Provisioning Operations
6 Troubleshooting This chapter describes troubleshooting problems when using XP Thin Provisioning and where to call. XP Thin Provisioning Troubleshooting Table 17 on page 59 provides troubleshooting instructions for XP Thin Provisioning operations. Table 17 Troubleshooting for XP Thin Provisioning Problems Causes and Solutions Cannot install XP Thin Provisioning. Cause: • Shared memory for the V-VOL management area is not installed.
Problems Causes and Solutions Cannot add pool-VOLs. Causes: • 1,024 pool-VOLs are already set in the pool. • The requirements for the pool-VOLs are not fulfilled. Solutions: • Add pool-VOLs to another pool. See “Creating Pools” on page 44. • Add pool-VOLs that fulfill the requirements. See “Volume and Pool Requirements” on page 27. You cannot assign a V-VOL to a pool. Cause: • The pool usage rate is 100%. Solution: • Add some pool-VOLs to increase the available capacity of the pool.
Managing Pool-Related SIMs In pools or V-VOLs, the following SIMs (Service Information Message) will sometimes occur.
Troubleshooting
A Acronyms and Abbreviations Table 18 Acronyms and Abbreviations CCI RAID Manager CLPR cache logical partition CU control unit (logical control unit) CV custom-sized volume Cyl cylinder DKA disk adapter DKC disk controller DKCMAIN Disk Controller Main DP XP Thin Provisioning G-ID host group ID LDEV logical device LDKC logical disk controller LU logical unit LUN logical unit number LUSE LUN Expansion Mng.
VLL Virtual LVI/LUN VMA volume management area V-VOL virtual volume 64 Acronyms and Abbreviations
Index A I B L C M Acronyms and Abbreviations, 63 Advantages of XP Thin Provisioning, 12 Associating V-VOLs with a Pool, 17 audience, 7 Business Copy, 19 Change Pool Information dialog box, 46 Change Threshold dialog box, 56 Changing the Pool Information, 45 Changing the V-VOL Information, 54 Changing Threshold of the V-VOL, 56 Connect Pool dialog box, 55 conventions document, 8 storage capacity values, 8 Creating Pools, 17, 44 Creating the V-VOL Management Area, 17 Creating V-VOLs, 17, 48 D Deleti
Requirements and Restrictions, 27 S Setting the Pool Association Information to the V-VOL, 54 shared memory, 17 Shared Memory Requirements, 31 SIMs, 24, 61 SLPR, 49 storage capacity values conventions, 8 storage systems supported models, 7 Subscriber's Choice, HP, 9 Support Configuration, 16 T technical support HP, 8 service locator website, 9 Thresholds, 23 Troubleshooting, 59 Tuning, 21 U Uninstalling, 32 Using XP Thin Provisioning, 43 V V-VOL, 17 66 V-VOL list, 38 V-VOL management area, 17 V-VOL
