Learn about logical volume storage pools and file storage pools.
In Virtual I/O Server version 1.5 and later, you can create the following types of storage pools:
Like volume groups, logical volume storage pools are collections of one or more physical volumes. The physical volumes that comprise a logical volume storage pool can be of varying sizes and types. File storage pools are created within a parent logical volume storage pool and contain a logical volume containing a file system with files.
Logical volume storage pools store logical volume backing devices, file-backed storage pools, and the virtual media repository. File storage pools store file-backing devices.
Using storage pools, you are not required to have extensive knowledge of how to manage volume groups and logical volumes to create and assign logical storage to a client logical partition. Devices created using a storage pool are not limited to the size of the individual physical volumes.
Storage pools are created and managed using the following commands.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| chsp | Changes the characteristics of a storage pool |
| chbdsp | Changes the characteristics of a backing device within a storage pool |
| lssp | Displays information about a storage pool |
| mkbdsp | Assigns storage from a storage pool to be a backing device for a virtual SCSI adapter |
| mksp | Creates a storage pool |
| rmbdsp | Disassociates a backing device from its virtual SCSI adapter and removes it from the system |
| rmsp | Removes a file storage pool |
Each Virtual I/O Server logical partition has a single default storage pool that can be modified only by the prime administrator. If the default storage pool is not modified by the prime administrator, rootvg, which is a logical volume pool, is used as the default storage pool.
Do not create client storage in rootvg. Creating one or more distinct logical volume storage pools rather than using the rootvg volume group allows you to install any newer versions of the Virtual I/O Server while maintaining client data by exporting and importing the volume groups created for virtual I/O.
Unless explicitly specified otherwise, the storage pool commands will operate on the default storage pool. This situation can be useful on systems that contain most or all of its backing devices in a single storage pool.