| Sun Storage Common Array Manager Installation and Setup Guide |    
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| C H A P T E R 6 |
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Configuring RAID Storage |
This chapter introduces you to the Sun Storage Common Array Manager storage components. It contains the following sections:
For more information about the concepts introduced in this chapter, see the appropriate topic in the Online Help.
The array management software configures both physical and logical storage components. The components of a storage array configuration are as follows.
In addition to the basic elements of your storage configuration covered in this guide, you can add advanced, premium features to your configuration. These features require the purchase of licenses. The following premium features are described in the Online Help and user guide:
Storage domains, also called sets or storage partitions, enable you to partition storage to allow hosts or host groups access to specific volumes. Data hosts, such as a data base server, initiate data to store in volumes through the physical host ports (or initiators), residing on host HBAs. Volume-to-LUN mapping enables you to specify the host or host group that can access a specific volume on your storage array.
There is a free default domain with limited functions noted below. But to map specific initiators to specific volumes, you need to activate a premium license for a storage domain. Usually your need for premium licenses will be determined at the time you order your array.
A non-premium, default storage domain exists to include the following:
Any volumes within the default storage domain can be accessed by all hosts and host groups within that storage domain.
Note the following concerning default domains:
Premium storage domains define a volume-to-logical unit number (LUN) mapping, which will allow you to specify the host or host group that will have access to a particular volume in your storage array. The storage domain designates that only the selected host or host group has access to that particular volume through the assigned LUN.
When the storage domain consists of a volume mapped to a host group, it can enable hosts with different operating systems (heterogeneous hosts), to share access to a storage volume. A host within a host group can be mapped separately to a different volume.
A storage domain can contain up to 256 volumes. A volume can be included in only one storage domain and each LUN, from 0 to 255, can only be used once per storage domain.
| Note - Not all operating systems support up to 256 LUN IDs. See the documentation for your operating system for more information. |
FIGURE 6-1 shows how storage domains can be used to partition storage. It depicts a storage array configured with three storage domains, Storage Domain 1, Storage Domain 2, and Storage Domain 3.
FIGURE 6-1 Storage Array With Three Domains and Four Data Hosts
Storage Domain 1 consists of two volumes, Marketing and Sales, that are mapped to Host Group X. Host Group X contains two hosts, Host A and Host B. All initiators associated with Host A and Host B, within Host Group X, have access to volume Marketing by way of LUN ID 1 and to volume Sales by way of LUN ID 2.
Storage Domain 2 consists of one volume, Engineering, that is mapped to Host Group Y. Host Group Y contains two hosts, Host C and Host D. By virtue of being associated with any host within Host Group Y, all initiators associated with Host C and Host D have access to volume Engineering by way of LUN ID 1.
Storage Domain 3 consists of one volume, Test, that is mapped to Host D. All initiators associated with Host D have access to volume Test by way of LUN ID 2. Note that Host D is a member of Host Group Y; however, since volume Test is mapped directly to Host D and not to Host Group Y, Host D is the only member of Host Group Y that can access volume Test.
| Note - LUN IDs must be unique within a storage domain. |
For more information about storage domains and LUN mapping, see the Online Help.
When configuring a storage array, you need to determine how to organize and allocate the total storage capacity into volumes and share those volumes among your data hosts. As you plan your storage configuration, it is important that you consider the following requirements for your site:
To combine disk mirroring with disk striping, configure RAID 1 with more than four drives. The firmware automatically creates a RAID 1+0 virtual disk.
This section describes how to configure basic storage for RAID arrays. It guides you through the following tasks:
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Plan whether you want the default storage or custom storage capabilities. |
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Configure the storage using the New Volume Wizard and related functions. |
Use the planning worksheets in Appendix A as you gather data for your configuration. For more information about the configuration introduced in this section, see the appropriate topic in the Online Help.
License certificates are issued when you purchase premium services and contain instructions for obtaining license information.
Premium features that are available with Sun Storage Common Array Manager include:
Refer to your license certificate and contact the Licensing Center for license key information. Direct all license inquiries to licensecodes_ww@oracle.com.
1. From the Storage Systems Summary page, expand an array and select Administration.
2. Expand Administration and choose Licensing.
3. From the Licensable Feature Summary page, click Add License.
4. From the Add License page, select the type of license you want to add, and specify the version number and key digest supplied by Sun.
The New Volume wizard, available form the Volume Summary page, guides you through the steps for creating a volume and other basic storage configuration.
When you create a volume, the wizard prompts you to enter or select the following information:
Unless you create new pools, only the default pool with the default RAID-5 profile will be available.
You can also map to the default domain.
Before beginning the New Volume wizard in Using the New Volume Wizard to Create and Map Volumes, review the next section to decide if there are non-default storage elements that you want to configure. If so, you can either configure the elements before you begin the New Volume wizard or you can open a second browser window and configure them as you need to during the wizard.
Before you create a volume, you should plan the allocation of your storage. Before using the New Volume wizard, review the following topics:
Before using the New Volume wizard, you should know
If so, you can select the defaults in the wizard.
If not, you will need to define a new pool as described in Creating Storage Pools and assign it a pre-defined or new profile, as described in Selecting Additional Profiles.
If so, you need to activate the domain licenses as described in Enabling Premium Features. Then you need to define hosts or host groups before or after the New Volume wizard as described in About Hosts and Host Groups. Otherwise you will be using the default domain.
Sun Storage Common Array Manager provides several storage profiles that meet most storage configuration requirements. By default, the New Volume wizard will allow you to select a default pool with its default profile of RAID-5 characteristics. The profiles that display are specific to the model of the array and the drives it supports.
Profiles are selected from pools. If the default profile does not meet your performance needs, before entering the New Volume wizard, you can create a pool and select one of several other predefined profiles, or you can create a custom profile.
1. Click Sun Storage Common Array Manager.
The navigation pane and the Storage System Summary page are displayed.
2. In the navigation pane, expand the array you want to work with and choose Profiles.
The Storage Profile Summary page displays the predefined storage profiles for the selected array.
For example, the Oracle_VxFS storage profile supports RAID-5, 512 KB segment size, read-ahead mode enabled, SAS drive type, and four drives. Refer to the Online Help for a description of the predefined storage profiles provided with the software.
3. file that matches your storage requirements.
You will need the name of the storage profile later, when you create a storage pool.
| Note - If you want to create a custom profile, click New on the Storage Profile Summary page. If you need information about any of the fields, click Help. |
A storage pool is a collection of volumes with the same configuration. By default, you can select a pool with a default profile of RAID-5 characteristics. You can create new pools and assign other profiles to them.
1. In the navigation pane, under the array you want to work with, choose Pools.
The Storage Pool Summary page is displayed.
The Create New Storage Pool page is displayed.
3. Enter a name for the new storage pool, using a maximum of 30 characters.
4. Enter a description of the new storage pool.
5. Select Default or another predefined storage profile that meets your storage needs.
For information about the characteristics of the predefined storage profiles, see the Online Help.
The new storage pool is displayed on the Storage Pool Summary page.
By default, the New Volume wizard assigns a default storage domain if no other hosts or host groups have been created.
Most storage users will want to create additional storage domains and host groups to partition storage. You typically create host groups to group hosts that share the same storage characteristics and so that they can share access to a volume.
You can map volumes to a host group or to individual hosts that have a LUN.
You can create the host and host groups either before or after the New Volume wizard. (If afterwards, you will have to manually complete the steps equivalent to the New Volume wizard to configure initiators for each host, assign hosts to host groups, if needed, and complete the volume-to-LUN-mapping.)
If you have many hosts to create, you may find it easier to create the hosts first and then to add the hosts to a host group.
| Note - LUN-mapping requires a storage domain license. Hosts and host groups can be created without a storage domain license but have no valid purpose without a storage domain. |
1. In the navigation pane, under the array you want to work with, expand Physical Devices and choose Hosts.
2. From the Host Summary page, click New.
3. In the Create New Host page, type a name for the new host, using a maximum of 30 characters.
Use a name that will allow you to recognize the data host on your network.
4. (Optional) If host groups have already been created, assign the new host directly to a host group.
The host is created and added to the Host Summary page.
1. In the navigation pane, under the array you want to work with, choose Physical Devices > Host Groups.
The Host Group Summary page is displayed.
The New Host Group page is displayed.
3. Enter a name for the new host group, using a maximum of 30 characters.
4. Double-click the names of the available hosts you want to add to the group. You can also click Select All or Remove All to add or remove all of the available hosts.
The new host group is created and added to the Host Group Summary page.
To make non-default storage available to a data host or host group, you create an initiator and associate it with a host. An initiator is an FC port that is identified by a unique WWN of an HBA installed on the data host.
1. In the navigation pane, under the array you want to work with, choose Physical Devices > Initiators.
The Initiator Summary page is displayed.
The New Initiator page is displayed.
3. Enter a name for the new initiator, using a maximum of 30 characters.
4. Specify a new WWN for the initiator, or select an existing WWN from the drop-down list of unassigned WWNs.
If you specify a new WWN, the delimiting colons (:) of the 16-character hexadecimal WWN are optional.
5. Select the host name for the new initiator.
6. Select the host type for the new initiator.
The Initiator Summary page displays the initiator name, host name, host type, and WWN of the new initiator.
A volume is a “container” into which applications, databases, and file systems can store data. A volume is created from virtual disks that are part of a storage pool. Based on your selections, the array automatically allocates storage from different disks to meet your volume configuration requirements.
As mentioned in Planning Storage Allocation, you may want to configure new profiles, pools, host, host-groups, or initiators before or during the wizard if the defaults do not match your storage needs.
When you are ready to begin, the New Volume wizard guides you through the steps for creating a volume.
1. In the navigation pane, under the array you want to work with, choose Volumes.
The Volume Summary page is displayed.
The New Volume wizard is displayed.
| Note - After the initial installation, you will be unable to select New if there is not enough disk space for a new volume or if no existing virtual disks match the selected profile. |
3. Enter a name and capacity for the volume, and select the storage pool with which you want it to be associated.
You are prompted to select the method by which virtual disks will be selected:
5. Select the method you want to use to create a virtual disk:
6. Follow the rest of the wizard to configure the virtual disks.
You are prompted to map the volume to a host or host group and to select a LUN. If you have not created additional hosts or host groups, only the default storage domain will display. You map the volume to new hosts or host groups later.
7. Select a host or host group select a LUN number.
After you click Finish, the new volume is displayed on the Volume Summary page.
After the New Volume wizard completes, your volumes will be belong to:
All hosts in the domain will have access to the volume and you will not be able to change storage characteristics within the domain.
| Sun Storage Common Array Manager Installation and Setup Guide | 821-1362-10 |
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