Creating a pool

The following procedure tells how to create a pool. This procedure is for setting up Dynamic Provisioning , but optional steps are shown for setting up Dynamic Tiering , if you add tiers to your storage system.

Before creating a pool, you must install the proper amount of control memory, and you must have a V-VOL management area in control memory. When control memory is added, the V-VOL management area is automatically created. To add control memory, contact your representative.

One pool-VOL with system area is defined for a pool. The priority of the pool-VOL with system area is assigned according to the data drive type. The available capacity of the pool-VOL with system area is deducted from the management area capacity. The management area capacity stores the management information of software that uses the pool. If Dynamic Provisioning, Dynamic Tiering, or Thin Image is used on an open-system, 4.2 GB are used as the management area in the pool-VOL with system area.

When the pool is created, a pool-VOL with system area is assigned the priority shown in the following table.

If multiple pool-VOLs of the same data drive type exist, the priority of each is determined by the internal index of the storage system.

Dynamic Provisioning when selecting pool-VOLs manually

The Storage Administrator (Provisioning) role is required to perform this task.

To create pools by selecting pool-VOLs manually:

1. Perform one of the following to display the Create Pools window.

For Command Suite:

• On the Resource tab, expand the Storage Systems tree. Right-click DP Pools of the target storage system, then select System GUI. On the Pools tab, select Create Pools.

For the General Tasks pane in Storage Navigator:

• On the General Tasks pane, select Create Pools.

For the Pools window in Storage Navigator:

• Expand the Storage Systems tree and select Pools. On the Pools tab, click Create Pools.

• Expand the Storage Systems tree and select Pools. Click Actions > Pool > Create Pools to open the window.

2. From the Pool Type list, select Dynamic Provisioning.

3. From the Multi-Tier Pool field, select Disable.

4. From the Pool Volume Selection field, select Manual.

5. Follow the steps below to select pool-VOLs.

1. From the Drive Type/RPM list, select the data drive type and RPM.

2. From the RAID Level list, select the RAID level.

If you select External Storage from the Drive Type/RPM list, a hyphen (-) appears and you cannot select the RAID level.

3. Click Select Pool VOLs.

The Select Pool VOLs window appears.

4. In the Available Pool Volumes table, select the pool-VOL row to be associated with a pool. Then, click Add.

When selecting pool-VOLs, you can select a value other than Middle from External LDEV Tier Rank and click Add to set another tier rank for an external volume.

The selected pool-VOL is registered in the Selected Pool Volumes table. Up to 1,024 volumes can be added to a pool.

If LDEVs in the accelerated compression-enabled parity group are used as pool-VOLs, these LDEVs can be assigned to one pool. However, LDEVs in one accelerated compression-enabled parity group cannot be assigned to multiple pools as pool-VOLs. We recommend that LDEVs of the two types do not coexist in one pool. One type is the LDEV which is carved from the accelerated compression-enabled parity group and another is the LDEV which is carved from the accelerated compression-disabled parity group.

 For details about adding of LDEVs carved from the accelerated compression-enabled parity group, see Guidelines for creating a pool when accelerated compression is used

 Perform the following steps if necessary:

• Click Filter to open the menu, specify the filtering, then Apply.

• Click Select All Pages to select all pool-VOLs in the table. To cancel the selection, click Select All Pages again.

• Click Options to specify the volumes or the number of rows to be displayed.

5. Click OK.

The information in the Selected Pool Volumes table is applied to Total Selected Pool Volumes and Total Selected Capacity.

6. Enter the name in the Pool Name text box.

7. Click Options.

8. In the Initial Pool ID text box, type the number of the initial pool ID, from 0 to 127.

When you specify a pool ID that was previously registered, the smallest available ID is displayed by default. If a pool ID is unavailable, no number is displayed.

9. In the Subscription Limit text box, enter an integer value from 0 to 65534 as the subscription rate (%) for the pool.

If no number is entered, the subscription rate is set to unlimited.

 If using the pool created by pool-VOLs assigned from accelerated compression-enabled parity groups, you can create DP-VOLs whose capacity is larger than the pool capacity reserved for writing even if the subscription limit is defined to 100 % or less. In this case, the free area of the pool must be monitored. If you want to specify the pool subscription limit which is not required to monitor the free area of the pool, specify the value which is lower than the value calculated by the following formula:

100 % * ( Pool physical capacity / Pool capacity )

10. In the Warning Threshold text box, enter an integer value from 1 to 100 as the rate (%) for the pool. The default value is 70%.

11. In the Depletion Threshold text box, enter an integer value from 1 to 100 as the rate (%) for the pool. The default value is 80%.

Enter a value that is greater than the value of the Warning Threshold.

12. In Protect V-VOLs when I/O fails to Blocked Pool VOL, select Yes or No. If Yes is selected, when the pool-VOL is blocked, DP-VOL is protected from reading and writing requests. And at the same instant, the access attribute of the DP-VOL is changed to the Protect attribute.

13. In Protect V-VOLs when I/O fails to Full Pool, select Yes or No. If Yes is selected, when the pool usage reaches the full size, DP-VOL is protected from reading and writing requests. And at the same instant, the access attribute of the DP-VOL is changed to the Protect attribute.

14. Click Add.

The created pool is added to the Selected Pools table. If invalid values are set, an error message appears.

The Pool Type, Pool Volume Selection, and Pool Name must be set. If the required items are not entered or selected, you cannot click Add.

If you select a row and click Detail, the Pool Properties window appears. If you select a row and click Remove, a message appears asking whether you want to remove the selected row or rows. To remove the row, click OK.

15. Click Next.

The Create LDEVs window appears. Go to Creating V-VOLs to create LDEVs.

If Subscription Limit of the created pool is set to 0%, the Create LDEVs window does not appear.

Click Finish. The Confirm window appears.

16. In the Confirm window, click Apply to register the setting in the task.

If you select a row and click Detail, the Pool Properties window appears.

If the Go to tasks window for status check box is selected, the Tasks window appears.

Dynamic Provisioning when selecting pool-VOLs automatically

To create pools by selecting pool-VOLs automatically:

1. Perform one of the following to display the Create Pools window.

For Command Suite:

• On the Resource tab, expand the Storage Systems tree. Right-click DP Pools of the target storage system, then select System GUI. On the Pools tab, select Create Pools.

For the General Tasks pane in Storage Navigator:

• On the General Tasks pane, select Create Pools.

For the Pools window in Storage Navigator:

• Expand the Storage Systems tree and select Pools. On the Pools tab, click Create Pools.

• Expand the Storage Systems tree and select Pools. Click Actions > Pool > Create Pools to open the window.

2. From the Pool Type list, select Dynamic Provisioning.

3. From the Multi-Tier Pool field, select Disable.

4. From the Pool Volume Selection field, select Auto.

 Select Manual if creating the pool containing LDEVs in the accelerated compression-enabled parity group.

5. Follow these steps to select pool-VOLs.

1. From the Resource Group list, select the resource group name of the pool-VOL.

2. From the Performance list, select the performance of the pool.

3. In the Total Capacity list, specify the capacity of the pool.

Values are displayed in Total Pool Volumes and Total Capacity. These values are greater than the specified value of the pool capacity. If you change the pool configuration, perform steps d, e, and f.

4. Click Change Pool Configuration.

The Change Pool Configuration Pattern window appears. You can change the pool configuration that is automatically selected.

5. From the Pool Configuration Patterns table, select the pool configuration row. Then, click Select.

• You can select the pool configuration on a parity group basis.

• The priority of the pool configuration is determined by these conditions:

Priority 1: There is no free space in the parity group and one LDEV exists in the group.

Priority 2: There is no free space in the parity group and multiple LDEVs exist in the group.

Priority 3: There is free space in the parity group and multiple LDEVs exist in the group.

• The following items are not displayed in the Pool Configuration Patterns table:

Parity groups with LDEVs that cannot be used as pool-VOLs.

Pool configuration patterns that contain more than 1,024 LDEVs.

6. Click OK.

The information in the Pool Configuration Patterns table is applied to Total Pool Volumes and Total Capacity.

6. Enter the name in the Pool Name text box.

7. Click Options.

8. In the Initial Pool ID text box, type the number of the initial pool ID, from 0 to 127.

When you specify a pool ID that was previously registered, the smallest available ID is displayed by default. If a pool ID is unavailable, no number is displayed.

9. In the Subscription Limit text box, enter an integer value from 0 to 65534 as the subscription rate (%) for the pool.

If no number is entered, the subscription rate is set to unlimited.

10. In the Warning Threshold text box, enter an integer value from 1 to 100 as the rate (%) for the pool. The default value is 70%.

11. In the Depletion Threshold text box, enter an integer value from 1 to 100 as the rate (%) for the pool. The default value is 80%.

Enter a value that is greater than the value of the Warning Threshold.

12. In Protect V-VOLs when I/O fails to Blocked Pool VOL, select Yes or No. If Yes is selected, when the pool-VOL is blocked, DP-VOL is protected from reading and writing requests. At the same instant, the access attribute of the DP-VOL is changed to the Protect attribute.

13. In Protect V-VOLs when I/O fails to Full Pool, select Yes or No. If Yes is selected, when the pool usage reaches the full size, DP-VOL is protected from reading and writing requests. And at the same instant, the access attribute of the DP-VOL is changed to the Protect attribute.

14. Click Add.

The created pool is added to the Selected Pools table. If invalid values are set, an error message appears.

If an item that must be set is not entered or selected, you cannot click Add.

The Pool Type, Pool Volume Selection, and Pool Name must be set. If the required items are not entered or selected, you cannot click Add.

If you select a row and click Detail, the Pool Properties window appears. If you select a row and click Remove, a message appears asking whether you want to remove the selected row or rows. To remove the row, click OK.

15. Click Next.

The Create LDEVs window appears. Go to Creating V-VOLs to create LDEVs.

If Subscription Limit of the created pool is set to 0%, the Create LDEVs window does not appear.

Click Finish and the Confirm window appears.

16. In the Confirm window, click Apply to register the setting in the task.

If you select a row and click Detail, the Pool Properties window appears.

If the Go to tasks window for status check box is selected, the Tasks window appears.

Dynamic Tiering or active flash pool when selecting pool-VOLs manually

To create pools by selecting pool-VOLs manually:

 To enable active flash, LDEVs whose drive type is SSD are created in advance.

1. Perform one of the following to display the Create Pools window.

For Command Suite:

• On the Resource tab, expand the Storage Systems tree. Right-click DP Pools of the target storage system, then select System GUI. On the Pools tab, select Create Pools.

For the General Tasks pane in Storage Navigator:

• On the General Tasks pane, select Create Pools.

For the Pools window in Storage Navigator:

• Expand the Storage Systems tree and select Pools. On the Pools tab, click Create Pools.

• Expand the Storage Systems tree and select Pools. Click Actions > Pool > Create Pools to open the window.

2. From the Pool Type list, select Dynamic Provisioning.

3. From the Multi-Tier Pool field, select Enable.

4. If the pool for active flash is created, select the check box of Active Flash.

 If the function for active flash is used, pool volumes whose drive type is SSD must be installed in advance. If there is no pool volumes whose drive type is SSD, this check box cannot be selected.

5. From the Pool Volume Selection field, select Manual.

6. Follow the steps below to select pool-VOLs.

1. In the Drive Type/RPM list, make sure Mixable is selected.

2. In the RAID Level list, make sure Mixable is selected.

3. Click Select Pool VOLs.

The Select Pool VOLs window appears.

4. In the Available Pool Volumes table, select the pool-VOL row to be associated with a pool. Then, click Add.

The selected pool-VOL is registered in the Selected Pool Volumes table. Up to 1,024 volumes can be added to a pool.

You can add volumes with the same Drive Type/RPM and different RAID Levels. For example, you can add a volume that has an SAS/15K Drive Type/RPM and a 5(3D+1P) RAID Level to the same pool with a volume that has an SAS/15K Drive Type/RPM and a 5(7D+1P) RAID Level.

If LDEVs in the parity group on which accelerated compression is enabled are used as pool-VOLs, these LDEVs can be assigned to one pool. However, LDEVs in one parity group on which accelerated compression is enabled cannot be assigned to multiple pools as pool-VOLs. We recommend that LDEVs of the two types do not coexist in one pool. One type is the LDEV which is carved from the accelerated compression-enabled parity group and another is the LDEV which is carved from the accelerated compression-disabled parity group.

 You can select a value other than Middle from External LDEV Tier Rank and click Add to set another tier rank for an external volume.

 Perform the following steps if necessary:

• Click Filter to open the menu, specify the filtering, and then click Apply.

• Click Select All Pages to select all pool-VOLs in the table. To cancel the selection, click Select All Pages again.

• Click Options to specify the volumes or the number of rows to be displayed.

5. Click OK.

The information in the Selected Pool Volumes table is applied to Total Selected Pool Volumes and Total Selected Capacity.

7. Enter the name in the Pool Name text box.

8. Click Options.

9. In the Initial Pool ID text box, type the number of the initial pool ID, from 0 to 127.

When you specify a pool ID that was previously registered, the smallest available ID is displayed by default. If a pool ID is unavailable, no number is displayed.

10. In the Subscription Limit text box, enter an integer value from 0 to 65534 as the subscription rate (%) for the pool.

If no number is entered, the subscription rate is set to unlimited.

11. In the Warning Threshold text box, enter an integer value from 1 to 100 as the rate (%) for the pool. The default value is 70%.

12. In the Depletion Threshold text box, enter an integer value from 1 to 100 as the rate (%) for the pool. The default value is 80%.

Enter a value that is greater than the value of the Warning Threshold.

13. Configure Dynamic Tiering with the following steps.

From the Tier Management option, select Auto or Manual.

1. The selection is usually Auto, which allows performance monitoring and tier relocation to be performed automatically.

If you select Manual, use the Command Control Interface or Device Manager - Storage Navigator to manually perform performance monitoring and tier relocation.

2. From the Cycle Time option, select the cycle for performance monitoring and tier relocation.

When you select 24 Hours (default value):

Performance monitoring and tier relocation is performed once a day

In the Monitoring Period field, set the time to start and end performance monitoring. The default value is 00:00 to 23:59.

Set one or more hours between the starting and ending times. If you specify a starting time that is later than the ending time, the performance monitoring continues until the ending time on the next day.

You can view the information gathered by performance monitoring with Device Manager - Storage Navigator or the Command Control Interface.

When you select 0.5 Hours, 1 Hour, 2 Hours, 4 Hours, or 8 Hours:

Performance monitoring is performed every hour that is selected, starting at 00:00.

You cannot set a specific time to start performance monitoring.

 When Auto is set, the V-VOL pages may not be completely migrated in one cycle. In the next cycle, migration starts by updating information for the last processed V-VOL. At that point, the collection of performance monitoring information is switched to the current cycle.

14. From the Monitoring Mode option, select Period Mode or Continuous Mode.

If you perform tier relocation in a specified cycle, Period Mode is selected by default. If you perform tier relocation weighted to the monitoring result of the past period, select Continuous Mode.

15. From the Relocation Speed option, select the page relocation speed to use when performing relocation.

You can set the speed to: 1(Slowest), 2(Slower), 3(Standard), 4(Faster), and 5(Fastest). The default is 3(Standard). To perform tier relocation at high speed, use the 5(Fastest) setting. If the speed specified is slower than 3(Standard), the data drive load is low when tier relocation is performed.

16. In the Buffer Space for New page assignment text box, enter an integer value from 0 to 50 as the percentage (%) for each tier.

A default value depends on the data drive type of the pool-VOL in each tier. The default value of the SSD is 0%. The default value of a type other than SSD is 8%.

17. In the Buffer Space for Tier relocation text box, enter an integer value from 2 to 40 as the percentage (%) to set for each tier.

The default value is 2%.

18. Click Add.

The created pool is added to the Selected Pools table. If invalid values are set, an error message appears. If Detail is clicked when you select a row, the Pool Property window appears

The Pool Type, Multi-Tier Pool, Pool Volume Selection, and Pool Name must be set. If the required items are not registered, you cannot click Add.

If you select a row and click Detail, the Pool Properties window appears. If you select a row and click Remove, a message appears asking whether you want to remove the selected row or rows. To remove the row, click OK.

19. Click Next.

The Create LDEVs window appears. Go to Creating V-VOLs to create LDEVs.

If the Subscription Limit of the created pool is set to 0%, the Create LDEVs window does not appear.

Click Finish and the Confirm window appears.

20. In the Confirm window, click Apply to register the setting in the task.

If you select a row and click Detail, the Pool Properties window appears.

If the Go to tasks window for status check box is selected, the Tasks window appears.

Dynamic Tiering or active flash pool when selecting pool-VOLs automatically

To create pools by selecting pool-VOLs automatically:

 For creating the pool for active flash, LDEVs whose drive type is SSD are created in advance.

1. Perform one of the following to display the Create Pools window.

For Command Suite:

• On the Resource tab, expand the Storage Systems tree. Right-click DP Pools of the target storage system, then select System GUI. On the Pools tab, select Create Pools.

For the General Tasks pane in Storage Navigator:

• On the General Tasks pane, select Create Pools.

For the Pools window in Storage Navigator:

• Expand the Storage Systems tree and select Pools. On the Pools tab, click Create Pools.

• Expand the Storage Systems tree and select Pools. Click Actions > Pool > Create Pools to open the window.

2. From the Pool Type list, select Dynamic Provisioning.

3. From the Multi-Tier Pool field, select Enable.

4. If the pool for active flash is created, select the check box of Active Flash.

 If the function for active flash is used, pool volumes whose drive type is SSD must be installed in advance. If there is no pool volumes whose drive type is SSD, this check box cannot be selected.

5. From the Pool Volume Selection field, select Auto.

 Select Manual if creating of the pool containing LDEVs in the accelerated compression-enabled parity group.

6. Follow the steps below to select pool-VOLs.

1. From the Resource Group list, select the resource group name of the pool.

2. From the Performance list, select the performance of the pool.

3. In the Total Capacity list, specify the capacity of the pool.

Values are displayed in Total Pool Volumes and Total Capacity. These values are greater than the specified value of the pool capacity. If you change the pool configuration, perform steps d, e, and f.

4. Click Change Pool Configuration.

The Change Pool Configuration Pattern window appears. You can change the pool configuration that is automatically selected.

5. From the Pool Configuration Patterns table, select the pool configuration row. Then click Select.

• You can select the pool configuration on a parity group basis.

• The priority of the pool configuration is determined by these conditions:

Priority 1: There is no free space in the parity group and one LDEV exists in the group.

Priority 2: There is no free space in the parity group and multiple LDEVs exist in the group.

Priority 3: There is free space in the parity group and multiple LDEVs exist in the group.

• If the check box of Active Flash is selected, only the pool configurations that contains LDEV created by SSD are displayed.

• The following items are not displayed in the Pool Configuration Patterns table:

Parity groups with LDEVs that cannot be used as pool-VOLs.

Pool configuration patterns that contain more than 1,024 LDEVs.

6. Click OK.

The information in the Pool Configuration Patterns table is applied to Total Pool Volumes and Total Capacity.

7. Enter the name in the Pool Name text box.

8. Click Options.

9. In the Initial Pool ID text box, type the number of the initial pool ID, from 0 to 127.

When you specify a pool ID that was previously registered, the smallest available ID is displayed by default. If a pool ID is unavailable, no number is displayed.

10. In the Subscription Limit text box, enter an integer value from 0 to 65534 as the subscription rate (%) for the pool.

If no number is entered, the subscription rate is set to unlimited.

11. In the Warning Threshold text box, enter an integer value from 1 to 100 as the rate (%) for the pool. The default value is 70%.

12. In the Depletion Threshold text box, enter an integer value from 1 to 100 as the rate (%) for the pool. The default value is 80%.

Enter a value that is greater than the value of the Warning Threshold.

13. In Protect V-VOLs when I/O fails to Blocked Pool VOL, select Yes or No. If Yes is selected, when the pool-VOL is blocked, DP-VOL is protected from reading and writing requests. And at the same instant, the access attribute of the DP-VOL is changed to the Protect attribute.

14. In Protect V-VOLs when I/O fails to Full Pool, select Yes or No. If Yes is selected, when the pool usage reaches the full size, DP-VOL is protected from reading and writing requests. And at the same instant, the access attribute of the DP-VOL is changed to the Protect attribute.

15. Configure Dynamic Tiering with the following steps.

From the Tier Management option, select Auto or Manual.

1. The selection is usually Auto, allowing performance monitoring and tier relocation to be performed automatically.

If you select Manual, use the Command Control Interface or Device Manager - Storage Navigator to manually perform performance monitoring and tier relocation.

2. From the Cycle Time option, select the cycle for performance monitoring and tier relocation.

When you select 24 Hours (default value):

Performance monitoring and tier relocation is performed once a day.

In the Monitoring Period field, set the time to start and end performance monitoring. The default value is 00:00 to 23:59.

Set one or more hours between the starting and ending times. If you specify a starting time that is later than the ending time, the performance monitoring continues until the ending time on the next day.

You can view the information gathered by performance monitoring with Device Manager - Storage Navigator or the Command Control Interface.

When you select 0.5 Hours, 1 Hour, 2 Hours, 4 Hours, or 8 Hours:

Performance monitoring is performed every hour that is selected, starting at 00:00.

You cannot set a specific time to start performance monitoring.

 When Auto is set, the V-VOL pages may not be completely migrated in one cycle. In the next cycle, migration starts by updating information for the last processed V-VOL. At that point, the collection of performance monitoring information is switched to the current cycle.

16. From the Monitoring Mode option, select Period Mode or Continuous Mode.

If you perform tier relocation in a specified cycle or you do not need to specify the Monitoring Mode option, select Period Mode. If you perform tier relocation weighted to the monitoring result of the past period, select Continuous Mode.

17. From the Relocation Speed option, select the page relocation speed to use when performing relocation.

You can set the speed to: 1(Slowest), 2(Slower), 3(Standard), 4(Faster), and 5(Fastest). The default is 3(Standard). To perform tier relocation at high speed, use the 5(Fastest) setting. If the speed specified is slower than 3(Standard), the data drive load is low when tier relocation is performed.

18. In the Buffer Space for New page assignment text box, enter an integer value from 0 to 50 as the percentage (%) for each tier.

A default value depends on the data drive type of the pool-VOL in each tier. The default value of the SSD is 0%. The default value of a type other than SSD is 8%.

19. In the Buffer Space for Tier relocation text box, enter an integer value from 2 to 40 as the percentage (%) to set for each tier.

The default value is 2%.

20. Click Add.

The created pool is added to the Selected Pools table. If invalid values are set, an error message appears. If Detail is clicked when you select a row, the Pool Property window appears.

The Pool Type, Multi-Tier Pool, Pool Volume Selection, and Pool Name must be set. If the required items are not registered, you cannot click Add.

If you select a row and click Detail, the Pool Properties window appears. If you select a row and click Remove, a message appears asking whether you want to remove the selected row or rows. To remove the row, click OK.

21. Click Next.

The Create LDEVs window appears. Go to Creating V-VOLs to create LDEVs.

If the Subscription Limit of the created pool is set to 0%, the Create LDEVs window does not appear.

Click Finish and the Confirm window appears.

22. In the Confirm window, click Apply to register the setting in the task.

If you select a row and click Detail, the Pool Properties window appears.

If the Go to tasks window for status check box is selected, the Tasks window appears.