Creating fixed block volumes using the DS CLI

Complete this task to create fixed block volumes.

1. View your list of fixed block extent pool IDs and determine which extent pool IDs that you want to use as the source for the fixed block logical volumes. You obtained this list when you first created your extent pools. If this list is not available, issue the lsextpool command to obtain the list of extent pool IDs. Enter the lsextpool command at the dscli command prompt with the following parameters and variables:

   dscli>lsextpool -dev IBM.1750-13AAD7A -stgtype fb -l

   Extent pool attributes determine the size and quantity of volumes that can be created. The extent pool ID (even/odd) indicates the storage server (0|1), which dictates that the LSS ID component of the volume ID must be an even or an odd number.

2. Issue the lsaddressgrp command to find unassigned and available address groups. Enter the lsaddressgrp command at the dscli command prompt with the following parameters and variables:

   dscli> lsaddressgrp -dev IBM.1750-68FA120 -l

   An address group refers to a group of LSSs. Up to 16 LSSs can be grouped into one address group. All LSSs in an address group must be of the same format (CKD or fixed block).

   Note: If this is your first time creating fixed block volumes, all the address groups are displayed with a state of "unassigned".
3. Analyze the address group list to determine which LSSs can be used to make fixed block volumes.
   Consider the following conditions when doing your analysis:

   • If the address group list is empty, then all address groups are available to be defined (0 - 3).
   • If an undefined address group is used to create new fixed block volumes, select the lowest numbered address group.
   • If you are adding new fixed block volumes to an existing fixed block address group, use the lslss command to identify LSSs that are already defined in the target address group.
4. Issue the mkfbvol command to create fixed block volumes for the specified LSS. Enter the mkfbvol command at the dscli command prompt with the following parameters and variables:

   dscli>mkfbvol -dev IBM.1750-68FA120 -extpool P1 
   -name  finance#d -cap 8.6  0100-010f 

   Consider the following conditions with regard to the command example in this step:

   • All volumes will have the same type and capacity attributes.
   • The -extpool parameter identifies a fixed block extent pool containing available data extents.
   • The -name parameter allows you to assign an easy-to-use label or nickname to the volume. The volume name parameter can include a wild card (#d or #h) that inserts a decimal or hexadecimal volume ID value into the volume name.
     Note: The decimal designation does not apply to the volume ID number or the number of volumes that were created by the command. It only applies to the unique name that you have assigned. Also, when you process this command, the volume name that you have assigned does not appear in the confirmation message. To view the volume name that you have assigned, issue the lsfbvol or showfbvol command.
   • The -cap (capacity) parameter is 8.6 GB. The default is binary GB where 1 GB = 1 073 741 824 (2^30 bytes)
   • The example provides a range of numbers (0100 - 010F) for the number of volumes to be created. Because volumes are created using the hexadecimal numbering system, the range in the example creates 16 volumes. The actual number of volumes that can be created is 255 per LSS based on the following criteria:
     • The volume ID is a 32 bit number that can be represented as 4 hexadecimal digits in the form of XYZZ where X is the address group (0 - 1), XY together is the logical subsystem number 00 - 1E, and ZZ is the volume number (00 - FF).
     • DS6000 has a 16 384 volume address space that is partitioned into 64 logical subsystem (LSS) units, where each LSS contains 256 logical volume numbers. The 64 LSS units are assigned to one of 4 address groups, where each address group contains 16 LSSs, or 4096 volume addresses. All of the LSSs in one address group must be of the same type (CKD or fixed block).
5. Repeat step 4 for all of the required logical volumes for each LSS.
6. Issue the lsfbvol command to display a report you can use to confirm the status of your fixed block volumes. Enter the lsfbvol command at the dscli command prompt with the following parameters and variables:

   dscli>lsfbvol -dev IBM.1750-68FA120 -l -volgrp V2,V20

   Note: It is possible that the report will display that there was a configuration error that is associated with one or more of your mkfbvol transactions.