Veritas Storage Foundation™ Intelligent Storage Provisioning 5.0.1 Solutions Guide HP-UX 11i v3 HP Part Number: 5900-0084 Published: November 2009 Edition: 1.
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Contents Technical Support ............................................................................................... 4 Chapter 1 Introduction to ISP ............................................................... 9 About Intelligent Storage Provisioning .............................................. 9 Basic concepts in ISP .................................................................... 10 About storage pools ................................................................
8 Contents Chapter 5 Remote Mirror solutions .................................................... 41 About Remote Mirror solutions ....................................................... About Remote Mirror configurations ............................................... Setting up site-consistent ISP volumes ....................................... Making an existing disk group site consistent .............................. Index 41 41 43 45 ..............................................................
Chapter 1 Introduction to ISP This chapter includes the following topics: ■ About Intelligent Storage Provisioning ■ Basic concepts in ISP ■ Solutions using ISP About Intelligent Storage Provisioning Intelligent Storage Provisioning (ISP) is a feature of Veritas Storage Foundation™ that provides new approaches to virtualizing network storage. ISP allows application volumes to be created from the available storage that adhere to a set of specified criteria.
10 Introduction to ISP Basic concepts in ISP The remainder of this chapter introduces some basic but essential ISP concepts and terminology. Subsequent chapters apply these concepts to implement various storage provisioning scenarios. More detailed explanations on topics in this chapter are available. See the Veritas Storage Foundation Intelligent Storage Provisioning Administrator’s Guide.
Introduction to ISP Basic concepts in ISP About storage pools Figure 1-1 illustrates a traditional disk group containing disks that have been initialized for VxVM use. You can create volumes from the disks in this disk group by using the vxassist command or the graphical user interface. Figure 1-1 Traditional disk group in VxVM Disk group Initialized disks ISP extends this model by allowing the installation to enforce volume provisioning standards as defined in a set of templates.
12 Introduction to ISP Basic concepts in ISP ISP volumes are created in a disk group that contains a storage pool Figure 1-2 Disk group Storage pool Volume templates Disks Disks Non-ISP volumes ISP volumes Remaining unallocated initialized disks Any traditional non-ISP volumes that you create in a disk group with a storage pool remain outside the storage pool.
Introduction to ISP Basic concepts in ISP Table 1-1 ISP pool definitions (continued) Pool definition Description of supported volumes mirrored_prefab_raid5_volumes Multiple copies of data configured on prefabricated RAID-5 disks that are exported by an array. mirrored_prefab_striped_volumes Multiple copies of data configured on prefabricated striped disks that are exported by an array. mirrored_volumes Multiple copies of data.
14 Introduction to ISP Basic concepts in ISP Note: The first storage pool that is defined within a disk group is referred to as a data storage pool. All other storage pools that are subsequently defined within the same disk group are referred to as clone storage pools. A clone storage pool is intended to ensure that volume snapshots can be isolated from their parent volumes for independent processing. Release 5.
Introduction to ISP Solutions using ISP In addition to specifying the capabilities of a volume, templates can include storage selection rules that specify how to select the appropriate storage, and storage layout rules that define how volumes are to be created. About user templates A user template is a list of capabilities and rules that you can use to create similar volumes whenever required.
16 Introduction to ISP Solutions using ISP
Chapter 2 Volume creation solutions This chapter includes the following topics: ■ About volume creation solutions ■ Ensuring volume redundancy ■ Using storage attribute tags with volumes ■ Creating tagged volumes ■ Creating multiple volumes ■ Using user templates to simplify volume creation About volume creation solutions You can use the vxassist command to create ISP volumes.
18 Volume creation solutions Using storage attribute tags with volumes # vxassist -g mydg -P mypool make strpvol 2g \ capability=’DataMirroring,MirrorsOnSeparateComponents’ Such a volume tolerates the failure of one enclosure and provides greater reliability.
Volume creation solutions Creating tagged volumes ■ Physical location, such as rack number, frame number, floor, building, or site ■ Hardware RAID configuration ■ Failover properties ■ Performance properties ■ Cost per gigabyte You can use disk tags to create storage attributes in addition to those that are intrinsically associated with the disk hardware, and which are automatically discovered or assigned by VxVM.
20 Volume creation solutions Creating multiple volumes # vxassist -g dbdg settag customers db_table=Customers Creating multiple volumes The ISP language can also be used to define groups of volumes (volume groups) that are to be created in a single operation. If insufficient storage is available to the storage pool to fulfill the specified requirements, the operation fails and no volumes are created. Volume groups can also be used to enforce the separation of roles between the volumes that are defined.
Volume creation solutions Using user templates to simplify volume creation If an IT department is establishing the standards for volume provisioning, a subject-matter expert (SME) would define the correct user template using the ISP language to specify templates, capabilities, and rules.
22 Volume creation solutions Using user templates to simplify volume creation
Chapter 3 Tiered storage solutions This chapter includes the following topics: ■ About tiered storage solutions ■ Policies for storage tiers ■ Setting up tiered storage using ISP volumes About tiered storage solutions The typical requirements of enterprise-level storage management are to store and reliably maintain data from a number of different sources, such as inventory, customer, billing, business intelligence and personnel records.
24 Tiered storage solutions About tiered storage solutions Table 3-1 Storage tier cost and benefit Cost Benefit Application High High Mission-critical business data to which employees and customers need frequent, fast, reliable access. These files are stored on high-end storage arrays with fast, reliable network connections. High Low Data that is not directly related to an enterprise’s business, but which nevertheless must be retained. Examples are compliance reports and employee HR records.
Tiered storage solutions Policies for storage tiers Policies for storage tiers Storage tier policies determine where every piece of data is stored based on the business needs of the enterprise and taking into account factors such as: ■ The value of the data to the business ■ The need for access to the data ■ The cost and ease of accessing each storage resource Storage tier policies allow the movement of data between storage tiers to be automated when certain criteria are met.
26 Tiered storage solutions Policies for storage tiers during their life cycle. File relocation may be triggered according to various criteria such as frequency of access, ownership and size changes. To set up a storage tier begin by tagging those volumes that you want to place in a tiered hierarchy, add these volumes to a volume set, and then implement the policies your enterprise has decided to use.
Tiered storage solutions Setting up tiered storage using ISP volumes Setting up tiered storage using ISP volumes The following procedure illustrates how to establish a storage tier using ISP volumes in a volume set. To establish a storage tier using ISP volumes in a volume set 1 Use the vxdiskadm command or the GUI to create the disk group that will be used to hold the tiered volumes and the volume set to which they will be added. Add all the disks that are required to this disk group.
28 Tiered storage solutions Setting up tiered storage using ISP volumes 4 If required, define the capabilities, rules and templates that are required to express the storage services that are to be provided by each tier. For example, you can create new volume templates that associate the correct tier tag for the class of storage that is used.
Tiered storage solutions Setting up tiered storage using ISP volumes 5 You can now create the volumes.
30 Tiered storage solutions Setting up tiered storage using ISP volumes
Chapter 4 Off-host processing solutions This chapter includes the following topics: ■ About off-host processing solutions ■ Implementing off-host processing solutions About off-host processing solutions Veritas Volume Manager (VxVM) allows point-in-time copies of a volume’s data, or snapshots, to be processed by alternate hosts while an application continues to access the data in the volume.
32 Off-host processing solutions Implementing off-host processing solutions Decision support analysis and Because snapshots hold a point-in-time copy of a reporting production database, a replica of the database can be set up using the snapshots. Operations such as decision support analysis and business reporting do not require access to up-to-the-minute information. This means that they can use a database copy that is running on a host other than the primary.
Off-host processing solutions Implementing off-host processing solutions Figure 4-1 Example implementation of off-host processing Primary host OHP host SCSI or Fibre Channel connectivity Disks containing primary volumes used to hold production databases or file systems Disks containing snapshot volumes used to implement off-host processing solutions By accessing snapshot volumes from a lightly-loaded host (shown here as the OHP host), CPU- and I/O-intensive operations for online backup and decision
34 Off-host processing solutions Implementing off-host processing solutions Note: A volume snapshot represents the data that exists in a volume at a given point in time. As such, VxVM does not have any knowledge of data that is cached by the overlying file system, or by applications such as databases that have files open in the file system.
Off-host processing solutions Implementing off-host processing solutions To back up a volume in a private disk group 1 On the primary host, create a new volume, snapvol, in a separate disk group, snapvoldg, for use as the snapshot volume. This volume must be the same size as the original volume, but it can differ in its layout and other characteristics, such as the quality of storage. It is recommended that the snapshot disk group contains storage that is dedicated to off-host processing.
36 Off-host processing solutions Implementing off-host processing solutions 6 On the primary host, deport the snapshot volume’s disk group using the following command: # vxdg deport snapvoldg 7 On the OHP host where the backup is to be performed, use the following command to import the snapshot volume’s disk group: # vxdg import snapvoldg 8 The snapshot volume is initially disabled following the join.
Off-host processing solutions Implementing off-host processing solutions 12 The snapshot volume is initially disabled following the join.
38 Off-host processing solutions Implementing off-host processing solutions 3 On the primary host, link the snapshot volume in the snapshot disk group to the data volume: # vxsnap -g volumedg -b addmir volume mirvol=snapvol \ mirdg=snapvoldg You can use the vxsnap snapwait command to wait for synchronization of a linked snapshot volume to complete: # vxsnap -g volumedg snapwait volume mirvol=snapvol \ mirdg=snapvoldg This step sets up the snapshot volumes, and starts tracking changes to the original vo
Off-host processing solutions Implementing off-host processing solutions 8 On the OHP host where the replica database is to be set up, use the following command to import the snapshot volume’s disk group: # vxdg import snapvoldg 9 The snapshot volume is initially disabled following the join. Use the following commands on the OHP host to recover and restart the snapshot volume: # vxrecover -g snapvoldg -m snapvol # vxvol -g snapvoldg start snapvol 10 On the OHP host, check and mount the snapshot volume.
40 Off-host processing solutions Implementing off-host processing solutions 4 The snapshot volume is initially disabled following the join.
Chapter 5 Remote Mirror solutions This chapter includes the following topics: ■ About Remote Mirror solutions ■ About Remote Mirror configurations About Remote Mirror solutions The Remote Mirror feature of the Storage Foundation software mirrors volumes at separate sites, which allows applications to be recovered at an alternate site in case of site failure. An enterprise can thus continue to function despite the loss of one site. This feature supports both non-ISP and ISP volumes.
42 Remote Mirror solutions About Remote Mirror configurations Example of a two-site Remote Mirror configuration Figure 5-1 Site A Private Network Site B Cluster Nodes Metropolitan or Wide Area Network Link (Fibre Channel or DWDM) Cluster Nodes Fibre Channel Hubs/Switches Disk Enclosures Disk Enclosures For applications and services to function correctly at a site when other sites have become inaccessible, at least one complete plex of each volume must be configured at each site (site-based alloc
Remote Mirror solutions About Remote Mirror configurations Site-consistent volume with two plexes at each of two sites Figure 5-2 Site A Disk Group Site B Volume V Plex P1 Plex P2 Plex P3 Plex P4 The storage for plexes P1 and P2 is allocated storage that is tagged as belonging to site A, and the storage for plexes P3 and P4 is allocated storage that is tagged as belonging to site B.
44 Remote Mirror solutions About Remote Mirror configurations To set up site-consistent ISP volumes 1 Use the following command to set the site name for each host: # vxdctl set site=sitename The name that has been assigned to a site is stored in the /etc/vx/volboot file, and can be displayed by using the vxdctl list command: # vxdctl list | grep siteid siteid: building1 2 Tag the disks at each site that will be used for the remote mirrors with a site name using the vxdisk settag command as shown here
Remote Mirror solutions About Remote Mirror configurations This command fails if any of the following conditions are not met: ■ Each of the disks in the disk group must be registered to one of the sites. ■ Each volume in the disk group must have at least one complete plex at each site. ■ The disk group must not contain any RAID-5 volumes.
46 Remote Mirror solutions About Remote Mirror configurations 4 Register a site record for each site with the disk group: # vxdg -g diskgroup -f addsite sitename Note: As a side effect of this command, any volumes with unsupported configurations (for example, RAID-5 volumes) or with an incorrect layout (not mirrored across the sites) have the allsites=off attribute set on them.
Index C R capabilities introduced 14 redundancy of volumes 17 Remote Mirror feature configurations 41 introduced 41 site consistency 42 site-based allocation 42 rules introduced 14 D decision support implementing 37 disk groups making site-consistent 45 I Intelligent Storage Provisioning (ISP) introduced 9 ISP basic concepts 10 creating volumes 17 introduced 9 language 15 S mirrored volumes creating 18 site consistency 42 site-based allocation 42 site-consistent disk groups 45 site-consistent volum
48 Index U user templates introduced 15 using to create volumes 20 V volume templates introduced 14 volumes creating multiple 20 creating using ISP 17 ensuring redundancy of 17 making site consistent 44 mirroring 18 simplifying creation of 20 tagging 19
