Creating a Block Storage Pool

Prerequisites

• The storage system has been installed on storage nodes.
• A storage pool can contain only one type of main storage disks. Different storage pools must be planned for different types of main storage disks.
• It is recommended that all the storage nodes to be added to a storage pool have the same number of main storage disks. Between two storage nodes to be added to a storage pool, the difference in quantities between main storage disks must not be greater than 2 or 33% in proportion.
• It is recommended that main storage disks in the same storage pool have the same capacity. Otherwise, the system uses all disks as they have the capacity same as the disk with the smallest capacity in the storage pool.
• The type and number of cache disks in the same storage pool must be the same. Different types of cache media must be planned with different resource pools.
• You are advised to configure 32 nodes for each disk pool. If the number of nodes exceeds 32, divide them into multiple disk pools. In this case, it is recommended that the number of nodes in each disk pool be the same. For example, if there are 90 nodes, you are advised to divide them into three disk pools. Each disk pool contains 30 nodes.
• The total capacity of cache disks on a single storage node to be added to a storage pool must be greater than Max. Main Storage Media per Node x 40 GB.
• The cache/main storage ratio of a single node to be added to the storage pool must be greater than or equal to 2%. It is recommended that the ratio be greater than 4%.

Procedure

1. Choose Resources > Resources > Storage Pool.
2. Click Create.

   The Create Storage Pool page is displayed.

3. Configure basic information for the storage pool.

   Table 1 describes related parameters.

   Table 1 Storage pool parameters

   Parameter	Description
   Storage Pool Name	Indicates the name of the storage pool. NOTE: The name must be unique. The value can contain only letters, digits, underscores (_), and hyphens (-). The name contains 1 to 64 characters.
   Service Type	Indicates the service type of the storage pool.
   Storage Pool Type	Indicates the type of a storage pool. Possible options are Common and Self-encrypting. You are advised to select Common. If you have high requirements on data security, select Self-encrypting. Common: This type of storage pools does not support data encryption. Self-encrypting: This type of storage pools supports data encryption. NOTE: Only the license of the advanced edition supports the creation of encrypted storage pools.
   Key Service	When creating an encrypted storage pool, you need to select a key management service. Internal key service: The built-in key management function of the system is used. External key service: An external key management server is used. If you select this option, you need to configure the external key service first. For details, see Managing the External Key Service.
   Security Level	Indicates the security level of the storage pool. Possible options are Node and Cabinet. Node: N data fragments and M parity fragments are stored on different nodes. If M nodes or M disks are faulty, the system can still properly read and write data, services are not interrupted, and data is not lost. Cabinet: N data fragments and M parity fragments are stored in different cabinets. If M cabinets, M nodes, or M disks are faulty, the system can still read and write data properly, services are not interrupted, and data is not lost.
   Redundancy Policy	Indicates the redundancy policy of the storage pool. Possible options are EC and Data copy. In consideration of performance and reliability, EC is recommended. EC: Data redundancy protection is implemented by calculating parity fragments. Data copy: Multiple copies of the same data are stored on different nodes for data protection.
   Main Storage	Indicates the main storage type of the storage pool. When Storage Pool Type is set to Common, possible options are SAS, Self-encrypting SAS, SATA, Self-encrypting SATA, SSD, and SSD card or NVMe SSD. In this case, self-encrypting drives function as common disks and do not use the encryption function. When Storage Pool Type is set to Self-encrypting, possible options are Self-encrypting SAS and Self-encrypting SATA. Each node must be configured with at least four disks of the same type. NOTE: Meanings of the values are: SAS: SAS HDDs SATA: SATA HDDs SSD card or NVMe SSD: NVMe SSDs SSD: SAS SSDs
   Cache	Indicates the cache type of the storage pool. NOTE: This parameter is not required when Main Storage is set to SSD or SSD card or NVMe SSD. Meanings of the values are: SSD card or NVMe SSD: NVMe SSDs SSD: SAS SSDs
   EC	Indicates the EC redundancy policy of the storage pool. Select the EC redundancy ratio planned in the Bill of Quotation (BOQ). CAUTION: When Security Level is set to Cabinet, the number of cabinets is less than or equal to N + M, the remainder of (N + M)/Number of cabinets is 0, and the capacities of cabinets are different (the numbers of nodes or disks in each cabinet are different), the storage pool has unavailable space. In this case, you are advised to re-plan the number of cabinets or nodes to avoid unavailable space in the storage pool. For example, if the number of cabinets is 4, the EC redundancy ratio is 6+2, and the number of nodes is 15 (the numbers of nodes in each cabinet are 4, 4, 4, and 3, and the capacities are different), the preceding problem occurs. In this case, you need to add one server or one cabinet.
   Copy	Indicates the number of redundant copies allowed by the storage pool. CAUTION: When Security Level is set to Cabinet and the number of cabinets is 3, Data copy is set to 3, and the capacities of cabinets are different (the numbers of nodes or disks in each cabinet are different), the storage pool has unavailable space. In this case, you are advised to re-plan the number of cabinets or nodes to avoid unavailable space in the storage pool. For example, if the number of cabinets is 3, the number of copies is 3, and the number of nodes is 13 (the number of nodes in each cabinet is 4, 4, and 5, and the capacities are different), the preceding problem occurs. In this case, you need to add two nodes or one cabinet. NOTE: This parameter is available only when Redundancy Policy is set to Data copy.

4. Create a disk pool.
   1. In the Disk Pool area, click Create.

      The Create Disk Pool page is displayed.

   2. Set basic parameters for the disk pool. Table 2 describes related parameters.

      Table 2 Disk pool parameters

      Parameter	Description
      Disk Pool Name	Indicates the name of the disk pool. NOTE: The name must be unique. The value can contain only letters, digits, underscores (_), and hyphens (-). The name contains 1 to 64 characters.
      Max. Main Storage Media per Node	Indicates the maximum number of storage disks that can be used by a single storage node to store user data. The value of this parameter determines the allocation of cache and compute resources on the node. Set this parameter based on site requirements. To ensure that cache resources can be allocated to newly added main storage disks in the case of capacity expansion, you are advised to set this parameter based on the total number of main storage disks after capacity expansion. If the value is too small, newly added main storage disks cannot be allocated with cache resources. Cache resources can be allocated to newly-added main storage disks only after the capacities of both main storage disks and cache disks are expanded. If the value is too large, extra cache resources are reserved. As a result, cache resources cannot be fully utilized to improve read/write performance. If you select Self-adaptive, the system automatically determines the value based on the number of selected main storage disks. Assume that the number of selected main storage disks is N: If 4 ≤ N ≤ 12, a single node supports a maximum of 12 main storage disks. If 12 < N ≤ 24, a single node supports a maximum of 24 main storage disks. If N = 25, a single node supports a maximum of 25 main storage disks. If 25 < N ≤ 36, a single node supports a maximum of 36 main storage disks. If you select Custom, set the value based on site requirements. The value ranges from 4 to 36.

   3. In the Choose Node and Disk area, select the nodes and disks that are used to create the disk pool.
      

      • You can click Add and add nodes and disks in the cluster to the disk pool on the Choose Node and Disk page that is displayed.
      • You can select one or more added nodes or disks and click Remove to remove them.
   4. Click OK and confirm your operation as prompted.

5. Click Create.
6. Confirm your operation as prompted.
   

   After the storage pool is created, the system automatically creates VBSs for nodes in the storage pool. You can choose Monitor > Task Center to view the creation progress.