Ionix - 300 006 378

EMC Ionix ControlCenter
6.1
Storage Provisioning Services Allocating and Deallocating Storage

P/N 300-006-378 REV A04
Copyright 2008 - 2011 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Published in the USA. Published August 2011 EMC believes the information in this publication is accurate as of its publication date. The information is subject to change without notice. The information in this publication is provided as is. EMC Corporation makes no representations or warranties of any kind with respect to the information in this publication, and specifically disclaims implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Use, copying, and distribution of any EMC software described in this publication requires an applicable software license. EMC2, EMC, EMC Centera, EMC ControlCenter, EMC LifeLine, EMC OnCourse, EMC Proven, EMC Snap, EMC SourceOne, EMC Storage Administrator, Acartus, Access Logix, AdvantEdge, AlphaStor, ApplicationXtender, ArchiveXtender, Atmos, Authentica, Authentic Problems, Automated Resource Manager, AutoStart, AutoSwap, AVALONidm, Avamar, Captiva, Catalog Solution, C-Clip, Celerra, Celerra Replicator, Centera, CenterStage, CentraStar, ClaimPack, ClaimsEditor, CLARiiON, ClientPak, Codebook Correlation Technology, Common Information Model, Configuration Intelligence, Connectrix, CopyCross, CopyPoint, CX, Dantz, Data Domain, DatabaseXtender, Direct Matrix Architecture, DiskXtender, DiskXtender 2000, Document Sciences, Documentum, elnput, E-Lab, EmailXaminer, EmailXtender, Enginuity, eRoom, Event Explorer, FarPoint, FirstPass, FLARE, FormWare, Geosynchrony, Global File Virtualization, Graphic Visualization, Greenplum, HighRoad, HomeBase, InfoMover, Infoscape, InputAccel, InputAccel Express, Invista, Ionix, ISIS, Max Retriever, MediaStor, MirrorView, Navisphere, NetWorker, OnAlert, OpenScale, PixTools, Powerlink, PowerPath, PowerSnap, QuickScan, Rainfinity, RepliCare, RepliStor, ResourcePak, Retrospect, RSA, SafeLine, SAN Advisor, SAN Copy, SAN Manager, Smarts, SnapImage, SnapSure, SnapView, SRDF, StorageScope, SupportMate, SymmAPI, SymmEnabler, Symmetrix, Symmetrix DMX, Symmetrix VMAX, TimeFinder, UltraFlex, UltraPoint, UltraScale, Unisphere, Viewlets, Virtual Matrix, Virtual Matrix Architecture, Virtual Provisioning, VisualSAN, VisualSRM, VMAX, VNX, VNXe, Voyence, VPLEX, VSAM-Assist, WebXtender, xPression, xPresso, YottaYotta, the EMC logo, and the RSA logo, are registered trademarks or trademarks of EMC Corporation in the United States and other countries. Vblock is a trademark of EMC Corporation in the United States. VMware is a registered trademark of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners. For the most up-to-date regulatory document for your product line, go to the technical documentation and advisories section on the EMC online support website.
CONTENTS
Preface Chapter 1 Overviewsible Body Tag

Whats in this document................................................................ 12
Chapter 2
Storage Provisioning Services

General information....................................................................... What can be provisioned ......................................................... Thin device provisioning .......................................................... What cannot be provisioned .................................................... What cannot be deallocated .................................................... Provisioning process: Best practices .............................................. Configuring your storage.......................................................... Provisioning process................................................................ Entering provisioning requests ................................................ Saving requests as tasks ......................................................... Reviewing task and action details ............................................ Organizing tasks for execution................................................. Performance implications ........................................................ Executing and monitoring provisioning requests...................... Mixing low-level configuration changes with SPS ..................... Configuring the environment for provisioning................................. Physical environment .............................................................. Licensing ................................................................................. Agents ..................................................................................... Solutions Enabler .................................................................... Multipath configurations ......................................................... Installing and starting agents................................................... Permissions............................................................................. Creating allocation and deallocation policies........................... Rules determining logical device allocation ............................. Rules governing hosts.............................................................. Ionix ControlCenter Repository updates ................................... Working with SPS in the Ionix ControlCenter Console...................... Using Free Space view ............................................................. Starting the Allocation Wizard..................................................
14 14 14 14 15 15 15 16 16 16 17 17 17 18 18 19 19 20 20 20 21 21 28 33 40 42 42 44 44 46
3
Contents
Extending file system, logical volume, or volume group ........... Selecting host to have access to replica................................... Configuring meta devices......................................................... Reviewing path details............................................................. Reviewing the allocation task .................................................. Deallocating storage ................................................................ Executing allocation and deallocation tasks ............................ Viewing task list with selected details...................................... Viewing commands associated with task action ...................... Zoning changes and zone names ............................................. Using SAN Manager AutoPath .................................................. Showing reserved devices ....................................................... Provisioning use cases .................................................................. Adding new host...................................................................... Adding storage to hosts or clustered hosts .............................. Adding storage to volume groups............................................. Extending logical volumes ....................................................... Extending file systems ............................................................. Extending striped logical volumes............................................ Prezoning to constrain paths ................................................... Using ARM active commands ................................................... Provisioning clusters ............................................................... Platform-specific configuration information ............................. Provisioning hosts discovered in the SAN ................................ Reducing number of outstanding tasks .................................... Working with mirrored fabrics ..................................................
48 49 50 52 54 55 64 66 67 68 70 72 72 73 73 73 73 74 76 76 76 77 77 80 81 81
Chapter 3
Troubleshooting
List of possible trouble conditions ................................................. Retrying a failed operation ....................................................... Host rescan failure................................................................... Determining why no devices were found .................................. Refreshing information in the console...................................... Disk count in VERITAS volume group ........................................ LUN IDs greater than 255 on a Symmetrix array........................ Matching allocation tasks to log files ............................................. 83 83 83 84 86 86 86 87
Chapter 4
Host Agent Actions

List of actions ................................................................................ 89 Bus rescan............................................................................... 89 Edit sd.conf ............................................................................. 89
Contents
Expand Solaris VERITAS Volume Manager storage with PowerPath on CLARiiON array.................................................................... 90 PowerPath reconfiguration....................................................... 90 Add disks to VERITAS disk groups or PowerPath volume groups 90 Expand VERITAS or PowerPath logical volumes ........................ 90 Expand VERITAS or UFS file systems......................................... 90 Expand Solaris file system on slice number 2........................... 90 Expand Windows 2000 or Windows 2003 volume .................... 90 Preventing Actions on a host.................................................... 91
Contents
PREFACE
As part of an effort to improve its product lines, EMC periodically releases revisions of its software and hardware. Therefore, some functions described in this document might not be supported by all versions of the software or hardware currently in use. The product release notes provide the most up-to-date information on product features. Contact your EMC representative if a product does not function properly or does not function as described in this document.
Note: This document was accurate at publication time. New versions of this document might be released on the EMC online support website. Check the EMC online support website to ensure that you are using the latest version of this document.
Audience
This guide is part of the EMC Ionix ControlCenter documentation set,and is intended for use by users of Storage Provisioning Services Organization.
Conventions used in this document

EMC uses the following conventions for special notices:
CAUTION, used with the safety alert symbol, indicates a hazardous situation which, if not avoided, could result in minor or moderate injury.
NOTICE is used to address practices not related to personal injury. Note: A note presents information that is important, but not hazard-related. IMPORTANT An important notice contains information essential to software or hardware operation.
Preface
Typographical conventions
EMC uses the following type style conventions in this document: Normal
Used in running (nonprocedural) text for: Names of interface elements, such as names of windows, dialog boxes, buttons, fields, and menus Names of resources, attributes, pools, Boolean expressions, buttons, DQL statements, keywords, clauses, environment variables, functions, and utilities URLs, pathnames, filenames, directory names, computer names, links, groups, service keys, file systems, and notifications Used in running (nonprocedural) text for names of commands, daemons, options, programs, processes, services, applications, utilities, kernels, notifications, system calls, and man pages Used in procedures for: Names of interface elements, such as names of windows, dialog boxes, buttons, fields, and menus What the user specifically selects, clicks, presses, or types
Bold
Italic
Used in all text (including procedures) for: Full titles of publications referenced in text Emphasis, for example, a new term Variables Used for: System output, such as an error message or script URLs, complete paths, filenames, prompts, and syntax when shown outside of running text Used for specific user input, such as commands Used in procedures for: Variables on the command line User input variables Angle brackets enclose parameter or variable values supplied by the user Square brackets enclose optional values Vertical bar indicates alternate selections the bar means or Braces enclose content that the user must specify, such as x or y or z Ellipses indicate nonessential information omitted from the example
Courier
Courier bold Courier italic
<> [] | {} ...
Preface
Where to get help

EMC support, product, and licensing information can be obtained as follows: Product information. For documentation, release notes, software updates, or information about EMC products, licensing, and service, go to the EMC online support website (registration required) at:
http://Powerlink.EMC.com
Technical support For technical support, go to EMC online support and select Support. On the Support page, you will see several options, including one to create a service request. Note that to open a service request, you must have a valid support agreement. Contact your EMC sales representative for details about obtaining a valid support agreement or with questions about your account.
Your comments
Your suggestions will help us continue to improve the accuracy, organization, and overall quality of the user publications. Send your opinions of this document to:
techpubcomments@emc.com
Preface
10
CHAPTER 1 Overviewsible Body Tag

Storage Provisioning Services (SPS) automates both storage allocationfrom finding available storage, to extending file systems using this new storageand deallocationremoving the relationship between hosts or unidentified ports and the storage devices to which they have access. SPS simplifies complicated processes and facilitates rapid but controlled change in a data center environment. This document identifies common usage and requirements so that you can more easily begin using the product in an effective manner. This chapter contains the following sections:
Whats in this document .................................................................................. 12
Overviewsible Body Tag
11
Overviewsible Body Tag
Whats in this document

This document includes the following information about SPS:
General information on page 14 describes supported platforms and what can be provisioned. Provisioning process: Best practices on page 15 describes how SPS can easily fit into the provisioning workflow that most companies use. Requests for storage that include reserving logical devices can be saved by less-experienced users, and the same requests can be reviewed, modified as necessary, and executed by more senior administrators. Configuring the environment for provisioning on page 19 explains how to configure Ionix ControlCenter to begin using SPS. This includes ensuring that servers are properly connected to storage area network (SAN) switches, agents are installed, logical devices are placed in storage pools, and storage policies created. Working with SPS in the Ionix ControlCenter Console on page 44 provides information about the different Ionix ControlCenter components used to allocate storage. These descriptions are brief; we assume that you will reference the online help system for detailed information. This section is intended to be a high-level overview of the SPS dialog boxes. Provisioning use cases on page 72 provides use case details, such as allocating storage to a new host, or extending file systems. Select from the use case of interest to find out how best to manage your storage. Troubleshooting on page 83 describes errors that may occur due to external forces such as servers that are shut down, administrators that use other applications that conflict with SPS, and normal errors due to malfunctioning hardware. In most cases, the errors may be examined and corrective action applied. Host Agent Actions on page 89 includes a short explanation of what commands are executed in the host actions on behalf of SPS.
12
CHAPTER 2 Storage Provisioning Services

This chapter describes the features and functionality of Storage Provisioning Services (SPS) and includes the following topics:

General information ......................................................................................... Provisioning process: Best practices................................................................. Configuring the environment for provisioning ................................................... Working with SPS in the Ionix ControlCenter Console ........................................ Provisioning use cases .....................................................................................
14 15 19 44 72
13
General information
This section describes the supported platforms and required agents for SPS operations.
What can be provisioned

Storage provisioning provides or removes logical device access to servers on a fabric. These servers must be powered on and physically connected to a fabric that is discovered by the Ionix ControlCenter Fibre Channel Connectivity (FCC) Agent.
Thin device provisioning

Thin devices, which are created in the Symmetrix Management Console, are available to SPS for storage allocation and deallocation. However, there are limitations for thin devices within SPS.
Thin devices can be allocated in two types of allocation tasks: Standard only or Standard and Remote types. BCV allocations of thin devices are not supported. Thin device allocations must not use non-thin devices in the same element of an allocation, i.e., an R1 element of an allocation cannot consist of both a thin device and a non-thin device. Extending a volume group, logical volume, or file system is not available to thin devices. Direct allocation of data devices in thin provisioning pools is not allowed, therefore data devices are not allowed in the SPS storage pools. Data devices are internal system devices and do not apply to SPS. SPS can deallocate thin devices.
What cannot be provisioned

Servers that are connected to storage by SCSI, ESCON, or Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop cannot be provisioned.
14
Servers that are discovered by the Ionix ControlCenter Common Mapping Agent cannot have any host actions performed. However, logical devices may be allocated and presented to the host bus adapters (HBAs) that the FCC Agent discovered. Note that you first need to add the unassociated HBA port to the host. Symmetrix striped meta devices cannot be expanded, although concatenated meta devices can be.
What cannot be deallocated

You can only deallocate Fibre Channel Fabric-connected paths; you cannot use the Deallocation wizard to deallocate storage connected through SCSI or Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop. The Storage Provisioning Service does not perform any deallocation actions for host logical objects, such as databases, file systems, logical volumes, and volume groups. You should manually delete or reconfigure the objects on the host that are using a device before performing a deallocation. SPS does not remove zones. You will need to manually remove zones after using the Deallocation wizard.
Provisioning process: Best practices

This section describes how SPS can manually interface with your companys own requisitioning process for allocating storage. It is best to ensure that your provisioning process is documented, and you should incorporate your use of SPS in your documentation.
Configuring your storage

SPS requires configured storage. If you are allocating storage, this means that you must create logical devices from the disk drives in your storage systems before using SPS. Most companies configure their storage into standard-size increments, such as 8 GB or 16 GB logical devices. These may be configured at the RAID level of your choice, depending on performance and cost requirements. SPS is used to allocate these new, but unused, logical devices to your host systems. SPS will also reallocate storage that has been freed from use, such as when servers are decommissioned. Remember to configure your storage as you incrementally add disk drives into spare slots in the storage array, and then place these new logical devices in the appropriate storage pool.
15
Provisioning process
SPS will work with corporate operational provisioning processes that include various levels of approval. You can use the SPS CLI to integrate SPS directly with workflow or other software packages. Alternatively, you can track storage provisioning activity manually within software you use to manage the provisioning process. Within your internal tracking system, you should track activity such as host, application, and user contact names; desired storage capacity; and protection and replication policies (refer to Creating allocation and deallocation policies on page 33). After a request receives financial approval, the storage administrator would then receive and act on the approved request. The storage administrators activities might include, for example, moving logical devices to the storage pool of the business unit making the request, assuming you have organized storage pools by business-unit ownership.
Entering provisioning requests

The approved provisioning request is entered using the SPS Storage Allocation Wizard. A manager could ask a storage administrator to enter the information into the wizard and ensure that available storage is found. The storage administrator should export or print the path details that are determined by the software. The path details contain the list of logical devices planned for use, and the affected fabric, host ports, and storage ports. The change control board and/or senior storage administrators should then review this information. Note that the actual provisioning size may differ from the request size due to the type of storage currently available.
Saving requests as tasks

Each provisioning request, whether it is an allocation or deallocation, must be saved as a task, with a corresponding task name. Tasks are then added to a task list, which must also be named. A suggestion is to name the task in the form of <HostName>-<Size>-<RequestedDate>. The task list name might be similar to, or include, the originators name. You can also create a task list named Approved to contain tasks that have been approved and are ready for implementation. Logical devices and LUN IDs in saved tasks are reserved, preventing future use. Reservations are removed when the task is executed or deleted.
16
Note: An administrator may be given permission to save provisioning tasks only. The task may be executed or moved once the provisioning request is approved by a senior administrator or the change control board. In addition, a senior administrator may edit the task for necessary changes.
Reviewing task and action details

You may want to review details of the task list to understand the plan of execution. This will show you details like what logical devices get mapped or unmapped, masking, zoning, and host actions. You can print and export tasks and actions within the Ioinx ControlCenter Console. Alternatively, you can use the SPS command line interface (CLI) to list tasks and actions. The CLI allows you to generate the list of actions with a single command. Refer to the EMC ControlCenter Storage Provisioning Services CLI Reference Guide for more information. You will want to review data if the policy is to zone multiple fabrics on alternate days. There is an allocation policy option available to pause a task list between zoning changes. You should choose this option, check the zoneset change when the task list execution is paused, then restart the task list the next day for the next zoneset change.
Organizing tasks for execution

Most companies have a maintenance window for modifying their SAN environment. This means that the saved tasks may be executed only during these windows, which may be nightly or during weekend hours. Execution is at the level of the task list, and each task list may contain more than one provisioning task. You will want to place tasks that should be executed in the same period in the same task list. A good technique is to name a task list by the date and time of the expected execution.
Performance implications
There are performance implications when executing provisioning task lists. For example, multiple tasks to different hosts may cause mapping changes on the same Symmetrix array. To save time, you can move all tasks that require mapping actions for that array to the same task list. When you execute the task list, only one mapping session is needed for that array.
17
Executing and monitoring provisioning requests

In the Ionix ControlCenter Console, you can monitor execution of a task list in a Properties view. You execute a task list by selecting Execute Task List from the shortcut menu as shown in Figure 1 on page 18. You will then see an hourglass on the task list. You can drag any task list to the Properties target panel, and then select any task from within the task list in the target panel to view the action status. The status is updated dynamically. In some cases, a task might fail because a host failed to discover the new storage volumes. You might need to reboot that host while the remaining tasks continue to execute. You may then retry execution of the task list after the host condition is corrected and the task list completed execution.
Mixing low-level configuration changes with SPS

There are multiple ways to configure storage, including SPS and the SPS CLI, low-level commands within Ionix ControlCenter, array-specific tools, and EMC Solutions Enabler CLI. SPS is unaware of configuration changes that occur between the time it creates a provisioning task and the task list is executed. Before a task list is executed, a process runs to verify that reserved devices have not become allocated or deallocated by other tools. To determine if there is a problem with some reserved logical devices before your normal maintenance window, follow these steps: 1. Right-click the target task list. 2. Select Rebuild Task List from the menu.
Figure 1 Rebuild Task List command
18
The Task List is rebuilt automatically. If there are problems, such as a logical device having been used even though it was reserved, you will have time to use the SPS wizard to edit the appropriate provisioning task in order to select a different logical device.
Configuring the environment for provisioning

The following sections describe physical and software requirements for SPS.
Physical environment
The following considerations apply to the physical environment: Note: Some functions require a minimum level of array microcode. Refer to the EMC ControlCenter Support Matrix on Powerlink for specific version information.
Fabric Ensure that hosts and storage systems are physically connected to the SAN fabric. The Fibre Channel Connectivity Agent must be used to discover all connectivity in the fabric. Host Types Windows 2000, Windows 2003, HP-UX, Sun Solaris, and AIX hosts are supported. Refer to the EMC ControlCenter Support Matrix on Powerlink to ensure that the HBA drivers are at the minimum supported revisions. VMware hosts For VMware hosts running ESX Server 3.0, SPS can allocate storage up to the point of the host bus adapter of the server. VMware Virtual Infrastructure Client 2.0 can then be used to pick up the storage that has been allocated to the server. TES (Topology Editing Service) and storage allocation: If using the TES to create user-defined (virtual) hosts, SPS can allocate storage to a virtual host (except with Solaris hosts). When the physical host is added to the SAN the storage will be available to the host; provided the correct host bus adapter details were used when creating the virtual host. A TES host can only be allocated on its own, you cannot do TES host and real host allocation in the same task. When allocating to a TES Solaris host, the user will have to manually enter values into the sd.conf file when it is added to the SAN. SPS cannot do this during allocation as the actual physical host didn't exist.
19
Symmetrix storage allocation types are "Primary Only" and "Primary & Local". Clariion storage allocation policies must have "Create New Storage Group" selected on. If allocating Clariion storage to the TES host, the user will have to bind the host to the Clariion Storage Group when the physical host is added to the SAN. This will make the devices visible from the host. StorageWorks TES allocations are not supported.
Array Types The supported arrays include Symmetrix, CLARiiON, and HP StorageWorks EMA with HSG80 controllers. In all cases, logical devices must be created ahead of time; SPS provides services to allocate those devices to (or deallocate from) supported hosts.
Licensing
The Automated Resource Manager (ARM) license is required for SPS.
Agents
The native agents for each of the storage arrays used for provisioning must be installed and operating, for example, Storage Agent for HP StorageWorks or Storage Agent for CLARiiON. SPS cannot allocate or deallocate storage on arrays discovered by the Storage Agent for SMI.
Solutions Enabler
Refer to the EMC ControlCenter Support Matrix on Powerlink for the minimum version of Solutions Enabler.
20
Multipath configurations
Support for multipathing varies with the storage array or software used to support it.
Table 1 Support for multipathing Multipath Array Symmetrix and CLARiiON StorageWorks Comments PowerPath 3.x and 4.x are supported in SPS. The policy field specifying the number of paths is used to configure devices. PowerPath will manage I/O to those devices over those paths. Version 5.2 supports a single path only.
Installing and starting agents

In order for Storage Provisioning Services to work properly, all applicable agents must be installed and started:

The Fibre Channel Connectivity Agent must be installed to discover the fabric. Storage agents should be installed to discover and manage arrays. The Symmetrix SDM Agent should be installed to support LUN masking on Symmetrix arrays. Host agents should be installed on hosts requiring host actions.
Using Agent and Properties view

Use the Agents and Properties views to determine where an agent is installed, if it is active, and what information it is gathering. Figure 2 on page 22 shows the Agents view and the Properties view for one host in our SAN. The orange/brown lines that connect the host to the arrays designate that the host has a connection to the respective array. This connection may be through direct Fibre Channel, through a SAN, SCSI, or with a proxy network connection. Note that SPS will only allocate storage via a SAN (switched fabric). Additionally, the blue lines and gray lines between the agents and the arrays designate that the agent is able to manage information from the array. Figure 2 has one Storage Agent for Symmetrix and one SDM Agent communicating with the three arrays. By right-clicking any agent in the Agents view, you can select Properties to display the Properties view. Notice that there is a column for status. If the status is inactive, the agent is most likely stopped, or the agent is having trouble communicating with the ECC Server; you should start the agent and verify that it becomes active. Additionally,
21
Ionix ControlCenter displays the status of an agent through its icon. If you see the warning triangle on the agent icon, the agent is experiencing a problem. Note that there is some latency between the time an agent is started and the time that it appears active to the Ionix ControlCenter infrastructure.
Figure 2 Agents view and Properties view
Storage agents
The following sections describe special considerations for each of the required agents.
Storage Agent for Symmetrix and Symmetrix SDM Agent

The Storage Agent for Symmetrix and Symmetrix SDM Agent are required for Ionix ControlCenter to provision storage from Symmetrix arrays. Ionix ControlCenter requires that there be at least one Storage Agent for Symmetrix and one Symmetrix SDM Agent installed on a host that is locally attached to any given array in the SAN.
22
In order for SPS to work properly, the arrays must be fully discovered by the agents. In the Console tree panel, expand the Storage Systems folder to view all the available arrays.
Figure 3 Storage arrays listed in tree panel
If an array icon has a pink diamond in the upper-right corner, the array has not been fully discovered. Expect to see this icon when:

The Storage Agent for Symmetrix is not installed. The Storage Agent for Symmetrix has not fully discovered the array.
For a new installation, large arrays may take some time to discover, so wait until the diamond disappears from the array icon before beginning the provisioning process.
Storage Agent for CLARiiON

Follow the steps in Using Agent and Properties view on page 21 to add your CLARiiON array and the Storage Agent for CLARiiON to the Properties view. Like all other agents, you can view the status of the agent in the Properties view. After the Storage Agent for CLARiiON is installed on a host, you must discover the CLARiiON array using the Assisted option in the Discover menu.
23
Figure 4 CLARiiON Agents view and Properties view
Storage Agent for HP StorageWorks

Follow the steps in Using Agent and Properties view on page 21 to add your StorageWorks array and the Storage Agent for HP StorageWorks to the Properties view. Like all other agents, you can view the status of the agent in the Properties view. After the Storage Agent for HP StorageWorks is installed on a host, you must discover the StorageWorks array using the Assisted option in the Discover menu.
24
Figure 5 StorageWorks Agents view and Properties view
Host agents
A host agent must be installed on every host that will have host actions performed in the storage provisioning process. You can use the techniques described in Using Agent and Properties view on page 21 to verify the state of your agent. When the host agent is installed and has gathered information from the host, you will see information about your host in the tree. For example, the Adapters folder will contain your Fibre Channel adapters, the File Systems folder will display any mounted file systems, and the Volume Group folder will show all volume groups. If you see information about your file systems and volume groups, but you do not see your adapters, then you are likely using unsupported HBAs or drivers for the HBAs. Refer to the EMC ControlCenter Support Matrix on Powerlink to determine supported HBAs and drivers. If the host agent cannot discover your adapters, then you need to manually associate the HBA ports discovered by the FCC Agent to that host. However, you will not be able to perform host actions since the agent did not discover correct adapter numbers. Figure 6 on page 26 shows a fully discovered host.
25
Figure 6 Fully Discovered Host in tree panel
Fibre Channel Connectivity Agent

The Fibre Channel Connectivity Agent (FCC Agent) must be installed and you must discover all of the relevant fabrics.
Verifying FCC Agent connectivity through SAN fabric

By adding your fabric to the Topology view and displaying all of the links, you can easily determine whether the FCC Agent has imported your zoning information. Note that SPS will only function on hosts and storage arrays connected to the managed fabric.
26
Figure 7 Using Topology view to verify connectivity to storage devices
Verifying host and storage discovery with Relationship view

By selecting an object from the Host Device, File System, Logical Volume, or Volume Group folders and adding it to the Relationship view, you can view the relationships between your host and the storage devices to which it has access. If you do not see this information, determine whether all of the necessary agents, as previously described, are installed and functioning properly.
27
Figure 8 Using the Relationship view for file systems
Permissions
This section discusses user permissions and methods for preventing actions on a host.
28
User roles
SPS is designed to simplify provisioning. One level of administrator may be allowed to create provisioning tasks and reserve logical devices, while a second user role may edit and execute provisioning tasks. Permissions may be applied, per user, on certain hosts and certain storage pools. For example, one administrator may be authorized to save provisioning requests for e-mail hosts and storage pools, while another has permissions for Finance hosts and storage pools. A third user role is the storage administrator who can manage storage pools. The following permissions apply to allocation functionality. To manage storage pools, you need the following permission:
Allocation Administration Allows you to create a storage pool, populate a pool with devices, remove devices from a pool, and delete a pool.
To create and execute allocation tasks, you must have the following permissions for both the storage pool and hosts involved in the task:

Allocation Reservation Allows you to create and save allocation tasks only. Allocation Execution Allows you to execute allocation tasks.
To perform deallocation actions, you must have the following permissions:
Deallocation Administration To create a deallocation policy, you must have the Deallocation Administration permission for the Deallocation Policy object type. To edit a policy, you must have the permission for the specific policy or for the type. Deallocation Reservation To create or edit a deallocation task, you need the Deallocation Reservation permission for each host and array involved in the deallocation or for the Host and Array object types. Deallocation Execution To execute a deallocation task, you need the Deallocation Execution permission for each host and array involved in the deallocation task or for the Host and Array object types.
Creating and using storage pools

SPS draws upon available logical devices from storage pools selected in an allocation policy. Storage pools may contain either logical devices or other pools, but not both. Pools are used to constrain the selection process based on use cases such as those described in Use cases for storage pools on page 31. Review the use cases and determine which ones are the best fit for your environment.
29
For convenience, you may drag an array into a newly created pool, in order to place all of the arrays currently configured logical devices in that pool. Other logical devices that are configured later would need to be explicitly added. Note: It may take up to five minutes to move a large storage array into a pool. To find out if and which storage pool a logical device belongs to, drag the device to a Properties view. New logical devices created by configuration tools are not automatically assigned to any pool, and therefore will not be used by SPS. Remember to manually place new logical devices into appropriate pools. One of the best ways to determine whether logical devices are used is to look at the Allocated field in Properties view for a logical device. Allocated devices will never be selected for a new provisioning request unless they are deallocated first. However, pools are not limited to unallocated devices. For example, you might add allocated devices to storage pools for reporting purposes. In addition, if you use pools to track ownership of storage, then you might add allocated devices to the pools of the business units or applications that own them. Use the Relationship view or dialog box to determine which devices belong to an application or business unit. Note: SPS is conservative about which devices it considers to be allocated. Devices that are partially discovered, for example, are labeled "Possibly Allocated" and are not available for allocation.
Creating storage pools

To create a storage pool: 1. In the Console tree panel, expand Storage Administration. 2. Right-click the Storage Pools folder and select New > Storage Pool, as shown in Figure 9 on page 31.
30
Figure 9 Creating a storage pool
3. When the new storage pool appears in the folder, rename it, and then drag logical devices into the pool.
Figure 10 Renaming a new storage pool
Use cases for storage pools

The following sections describe possible use cases for storage pools. Note that you could combine all of these use cases under a single storage pool hierarchy.
Array type
You can place each array in its own pool or create a pool containing arrays of the same type. This is often a good way to initially create pools. This allows storage policies (described in the next section) to be set by array types, and makes it easy to select
31
pools in the policy. An array can also represent some of the types listed below, such as performance or cost. Newer arrays may be faster or cost more. Older arrays may be fully depreciated and cost less.
Ownership
You may organize your logical devices by pools that define ownership. This is an excellent way to reserve storage for an application that has prepaid for storage and has short-term plans to allocate storage. The storage administrator would place logical devices in the pool when financial approval is met in preparation for SPS to select the storage from a policy specifying that pool. Examples include separate pools for mail, file, and database applications.
Performance
Often, storage administrators buy small drives in order for one application to monopolize usage and get 100 percent of the I/O capability of that drive. You may want to place logical devices of this type into their own pool, and place logical devices split from very large drives into a lower-performance pool. An alternative method to high performance is to create RAID I/O devices. These devices may be placed in high-performance pools, and RAID 5 devices in lower-performing pools. Use the Properties view, and sort or filter by disk size. Then, use the Relationship dialog box (from the shortcut menu) to get the logical devices from the disks of a certain size. You can also use Properties view to sort logical devices by protection type (Configuration column).
Cost
You can create storage pools based on cost of storage, either from low-cost arrays or from logical devices split from very large drives, with a lower cost per megabyte.
Geography
You may want to place remote storage in its own pool for use in provisioning for disaster recovery. In many cases, data centers may be combined through fabrics even though they may be thousands of feet away. Segregate your storage pools in order to allocate storage to servers from local arrays. Remote Symmetrix arrays are discovered from the local Symmetrix array.
Combinations
Combine the above use cases in a pool hierarchy, as necessary, to help segregate logical devices of different characteristics.
32
Reserving devices in storage pools

You may use a dedicated pool, which is not used by any policy, to reserve logical devices for future applications. If you do so, ensure that this pool is not under a master pool that is placed in any policy (refer to Creating allocation and deallocation policies, which follows). You may then drag logical devices from the reserve pool to standard pools, once there is a demand for these devices.
Creating allocation and deallocation policies

Storage Provisioning Services require policies. These policies simplify and formalize repetitive allocation and deallocation tasks. For allocation policies, attributes such as replica class (remote or local replica), specific storage pools from which to draw devices, and restricting storage to zoned devices are specified. For deallocation policies, some of the optional actions include rediscovering a host before and after the deallocation, unmapping storage devices from the front end of the array (for example, removing a LUN from a storage group on a CLARiiON array), and dissolving meta devices or metaLUNs. Storage administrators can create allocation and deallocation policies for storage with different needs or to control deallocation tasks performed by junior administrators. You can create and edit policies using either the Allocation or Deallocation Policy Editor. You can display this dialog box by right-clicking either the Allocation Policies or Deallocation Policies folder in the Storage Administration folder, or from within the Storage Provisioning Services, through the Edit and New buttons in the wizards. Note: The Replica Class for an allocation policy is permanent and cannot be changed once assigned, but other parameters may be changed.
Creating allocation policies

To create an allocation policy: 1. In the tree panel, expand Storage Administration. 2. Right-click the Allocation Policies folder, and select New, Allocation Policy. The Allocation Policy Editor dialog box appears (Figure 11 on page 34).
33
Figure 11 Allocation Policy Editor - New policy dialog box
34
The dialog box supports the configuration of the following attributes.

Table 2 Allocation Policy Editor dialog box options (1 of 3) Option Use this Policy as my default Description Makes this your default allocation policy in the Storage Provisioning Service. You can select a different policy when the Storage Provisioning Service starts.
Allow devices from multiple arrays Allows the allocated storage to include devices from multiple arrays of the same type. Enforce homogeneity of host OS on storage ports Specifies that hosts that are running the same operating system (OS) should access storage through a fixed set of front-end ports. With this option selected, SPS will filter out the following types of ports during path selection: Storage ports with allocated storage to multiple host operating system types Storage ports with allocated storage to a host running an OS that is different from the OS of the host being allocated SPS only considers the operating system type, not the operating system version. Pauses the execution of a task list between zoning changes. If a task list contains multiple zone set activations, SPS pauses the execution of the task list after each zone set activation to allow you to confirm the zoning changes before changes are made to the next zone set. In the tree and Task List Viewer, a Paused Task List icon indicates that the task list is paused. To resume the storage allocation task after you confirm the zoning changes, right-click the paused task list and select Resume Task List.
Pause between zoning changes
Symmetrix Only Add to SymAPI Device Group Adds all newly allocated devices, which were allocated using this policy, to an existing SymAPI (Solutions Enabler) device group. This attribute only applies to Symmetrix arrays. This attribute is selected automatically if the replica class is Local, but the attribute is optional if the replica class is Primary Only or Remote. If you select this option, you must create the device group and prepare it to receive devices before you run the Allocation Wizard. Specifies either meta devices or standard devices. Specifies meta devices only.
Meta or non-meta, existing only Meta devices only
35
Table 2 Allocation Policy Editor dialog box options (2 of 3) Option If not found, create striped metas Description Tells the Allocation wizard to create striped meta devices if it cannot find existing meta devices that meet the parameters of the request. This option only applies to the Primary and Primary + Local replica classes. All created meta devices will have the same number of devices. SPS will only use unmapped devices for new meta devices. Creates meta devices with this number of devices. Specify a whole number greater than one. If you do not specify a value and you select At Least for Amount to Allocate on the first screen of the Allocation wizard, SPS always creates the minimum number of metas allowed (as specified in Requested # Metas on the first screen of the Allocation wizard), using the smallest possible devices. In this case, SPS ignores any maximum value specified for Requested # Metas. However, SPS makes metas from larger devices, rather than the smallest available devices, if using the larger devices reduces the number of zoning operations required to allocate the metas. If you do not specify a value and you select At Most or Range for Amount to Allocate on the first screen of the Allocation wizard, SPS attempts to locate the maximum amount requested (without exceeding it), using the smallest number of metas and choosing those with the smallest size members first. However, SPS creates more metas with fewer members if that comes closer to the maximum requested size. As described in the previous case, SPS makes metas from larger devices if creating metas from those devices reduces the number of zoning operations.
With exactly n members
All Array Types
36
Table 2 Allocation Policy Editor dialog box options (3 of 3) Option Replica Class Description Indicates the type of replica device to be associated with the primary storage device. Click the Select Class button to display a dialog box that allows you specify a different replica class. Lets you specify a policy description. An editable summary table indicating the attributes of the primary and replica devices. (Click cells to select from listboxes of available choices.) The following attributes are shown: Storage Element Row-level indicator for the device attributes to follow. Storage Pool Storage pool from which devices should be taken. Storage Type Type of storage devices to choose from within the storage pool. Only Symmetrix arrays are allowed when the policy specifies local or remote replicas. RAID Level Type of RAID configuration associated with the device. # Paths Number of paths to create between the host and the storage. Create New Storage Group (CLARiiON only) Check to create a new storage group for CLARiiON allocations. This is required if you allocate a new CLARiiON array to an existing host, or if you allocate CLARiiON storage for a newly configured host. Mapped Devices Only (Symmetrix only) Constraint to select Symmetrix devices that are already mapped (no SDR action required). Zoned Storage Only Constraint to select storage that is currently zoned to the host. This usually means a storage array that is in use or preconfigured for use. This supports the requirement to keep applications inside one storage array. If you do not specify this, SPS can choose any storage in the pool, even if that storage array has never been zoned to (used by) the host. Disable Host Actions Specify this option to prevent any host actions during the allocation, such as rescanning, PowerPath operations, or actions on volume groups, logical volumes, and file systems.
Description Storage Element's Attributes
Creating deallocation policies

To create a deallocation policy: 1. In the tree panel, expand Storage Administration. 2. Right-click Deallocation Policies and select New. The Deallocation Policy Editor dialog box appears (Figure 12 on page 38).
37
Figure 12 Deallocation Policy Editor dialog box
Table 3 describes the Deallocation Policy Editor controls.
38
Note: You can also create deallocation policies by clicking New on the first screen of the Deallocation wizard.
Table 3 Deallocation Policy Editor Controls (1 of 2) Control Policy Name Description Policy Name. This field is disabled if you accessed this dialog box by clicking the Edit button in the Deallocation wizard. The Storage Provisioning Service has one default deallocation policy. The first time you use the Deallocation wizard, this system-wide default policy appears in the Deallocation Policy field. If you choose another policy in the Deallocation wizard, that policy becomes your default policy. However, the system-wide default still appears for other users the first time they use the Deallocation wizard. Select this checkbox to make this policy the system-wide default.
Use this policy as system default
Host Actions Disable host actions Before Executing Tasks: Rediscover host and fail or error Do not perform deallocation actions on hosts that use this policy. Before performing the deallocation task, rediscover the host and update the Repository. The Deallocation wizard indicates which host devices are currently in use by host file systems, databases, device groups, and so on. If a deallocation task encounters storage that is still in use by a host, the task fails. Note: If you retry a task list, SPS does not check again whether host devices are in use. If the task list succeeds this time, you may lose data on host file systems, databases, and so on that use deallocated devices. After Executing Tasks: Rediscover host Rediscover the host and update the Repository after completing the deallocation task. This keeps the Repository synchronized with changes that result from your deallocation task and prevents you and other users from seeing and acting on out-of-date data.
Array Actions Remove masking access rights Unmap storage device from front end Remove host access to storage ports for deallocated devices (for CLARiiON arrays, remove LUNs from storage groups). This action is always performed. Unmap devices from the array front-end ports that you specify in the Deallocation wizard. This action applies to Symmetrix devices only. This task is only performed if the device is no longer part of any path.
39
Table 3 Deallocation Policy Editor Controls (2 of 2) Control Remove from Symmetrix device group Delete device (CLARiiON) or dissolve meta device if not SRDF (for Symmetrix, requires unmap) Deallocate replica if primary deallocated Description If the device or replica belongs to a device group, remove it from the group. This task is only performed if the device is no longer part of any path. For CLARiiON arrays, delete deallocated devices. For Symmetrix arrays, dissolve meta devices after unmapping them (assuming the meta device is not an SRDF device). This task is only performed if a device is no longer part of any path. When a primary device on a Symmetrix is deallocated, remove any access rights a host has to local or remote replicas of that device. SPS treats a BCV as a replica, even after the BCV has been split from its standard device
Rules determining logical device allocation

Storage Provisioning Services uses preset rules to determine which logical devices are available for allocation. This section describes those rules.
Symmetrix rules
The following rules determine when Symmetrix standard devices can be selected for allocation tasks: Devices must be:

In the Ready state, and the Normal status. Unmapped or mapped to a SAN-connected Fibre Channel port and have no unmask records. In a storage pool specified by allocation policy used.
Devices must not be:
Mapped to ports that are considered direct attached, such as SCSI, ESCON, or Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop. VDEV, SAV, VCMDB, SFS, DRV, or RAD devices because these are reserved or system devices. In a SYMAPI device or consistency group.
40
Note: In some cases, an unmapped logical device will retain its masking record if it is not removed, and therefore will not be selected as an available device. These entries must be removed in order to allocate the storage. Use the Masking dialog boxes or the Deallocation Wizard to make the device available for allocation.
Symmetrix BCV rules

Symmetrix BCVs follow the same rules as standard logical devices except that the BCV will not be selected if it is associated with a standard device.
FA port mapping rules

A properties file has a setting that can be configured to True or False with the following results:
False(default) ARM looks for any FA ports that are zoned/unzoned to the host(s)
and uses the port with the least number of storage devices already mapped to it.
True BCV devices are not mapped to FA ports that contain any R2 devices for the
host to which the allocation request is being made. In addition, BCV devices can be mapped to FA ports that contain standard devices for the host to which the allocation request is being made.
Properties file location: esm\class\properties\resview\sps.properties

Properties file content(default): #If this setting is true, then r2 and bcv will be mapped to separate ports and will not be mixed. NeedToKeepR2AndBCVSeparate=false
Refer to Reviewing path details on page 52 to view the dialog box for proposed path and port settings.
CLARiiON rules
The following rules apply to CLARiiON logical devices:
CLARiiON logical devices are available if the device is not assigned to a storage group, or if the device is in a storage group, but the storage group is not associated with a host. To allocate CLARiiON storage to a new host, you must first create an allocation policy and ensure that you select the Create New Storage Group option. This is required if you allocate a new CLARiiON array to an existing host, or if you allocate CLARiiON storage for a newly configured host.
41
StorageWorks rules
Logical devices are available if they have no unmask records and device numbers are higher than the connection offset to the host.
Reserved logical devices

During SPS wizard use and once provisioning tasks are saved, the devices and their LUN IDs are reserved. This prevents the same devices from being selected by another SPS request. The same devices are unreserved after the task is executed successfully. Logical devices are also unreserved if a task is deleted. To review reserved devices, select the storage pools and select Show reserved volumes in the shortcut menu. Refer to Showing reserved devices on page 72 for more information.
Rules governing hosts

ESX servers
When deallocating from an ESX Server 3.0, the deallocation policy being used must have the "Disable Host Actions" checked otherwise the task will fail.
Ionix ControlCenter Repository updates

The Ionix ControlCenter Console reflects data in the Ionix ControlCenter Repository. Data is updated based on agent data collection policies. Host agents are typically set up to collect once a day after midnight. Storage agents typically collect configurations more than once a day. The Storage Agent for Symmetrix will update the Repository when it detects a change in its configuration, testing every few minutes. Note that even though an agent may immediately send a change, there is time spent in the Ionix ControlCenter Store processing the new data. It could be as long as or longer than an hour if there are other agents competing for the Store at the same time. Use Properties view to determine that the Repository is up to date.
Updating host configurations

Often, an allocation request may be based on a daytime alert sent by an active host agent. In addition, configuration changes may occur during the same daytime hours. The Repository reflects the host as of the night before. Before performing allocation operations, you should update that host configuration (or wait until the next day). This can easily be done by either of the following methods:
42
Method #1: Rediscover

1. Right-click the host and select Rediscover. 2. Wait a few minutes for the changes to be reflected in the Console.
Method #2: Stop and restart the agent

1. Right-click the host and select Agents, Stop. 2. Select the host agent from the dialog box, and click OK. 3. After waiting a moment for the host agent to stop, right-click the host and select Agents, Start, and then select the agent and click OK. Discovery can take a few minutes for a small host to over an hour for a large host.
Updating SAN configurations

If you are provisioning storage to a new host, that host must be physically connected to the SAN. After you connect the host to the SAN, you must update the Ionix ControlCenter Repository with the WWN of the new host adapter. By default, the FCC Agent scans the SAN and updates the Repository every six hours. However, you can update the Repository immediately using either of two methods:
Stop and restart the FCC Agent (refer to Updating host configurations on page 42 for more information on restarting agents). Rediscover the fabric where the host adapter is included.
To rediscover a fabric: 1. On the taskbar, click Monitoring. 2. On the menu bar, select Connectivity from the Discover menu. 3. The Search for Connectivity Devices dialog box appears. 4. Select a switch that is part of the fabric you want to rediscover. 5. A Rediscover button appears in the Details panel of the dialog box. 6. To rediscover the switch and all other switches in the fabric it is part of, select Discover fabric before clicking Rediscover. 7. To rediscover the switch only, clear the Discover fabric option before clicking the Rediscover button.
43
Updating storage configurations

Provisioning requires logical devices to first be placed in storage pools. It is necessary to refresh the Repository after creating new logical devices from new physical disk drives. The Symmetrix configuration software will automatically refresh the Repository after new devices are created. The Storage Agents for CLARiiON and StorageWorks will refresh the Repository after midnight. You may manually stop and restart the agent to see the new devices. Move these new devices into appropriate storage pools once they have been created. Follow the agent rediscovery steps described in Updating host configurations on page 42.
Working with SPS in the Ionix ControlCenter Console

This section discusses how to perform SPS tasks in the Ionix ControlCenter Console.
Using Free Space view

The Free Space view shows, for storage arrays, space that is available (mapped or unmapped) and not available for allocation to hosts and host clusters, with options to get detailed information for HBAs, ports, devices, and pools. The Free Space view also shows how much storage is reserved for pending allocation tasks that you created with SPS (including SPS). Use Free Space view to:

See if there is space available in the host instead of adding storage. Review array details from arrays connected to the host through the SAN. Drill down to storage ports to see if there are enough LUN slots available. Find available logical devices in the array or storage pool. Use the previous methods to help determine why SPS did not find available storage for a request.
Displaying Free Space view

To display the Free Space view, as shown in Figure 13 on page 45, follow these steps: 1. Select one of the supported storage arrays, a host, or host storage object, like a file system. 2. Click the Storage Allocation task button.
44
3. Select Free Space from the Storage Allocation task menu. The Free Space view appears.
Figure 13 Free Space view
Once the display is populated, you can select other objects or drill down to narrow the field of inspection. Figure 14 shows the view drilled down to determine how much storage is associated with each port in the storage array.
Figure 14 Drilling Down in storage environment
45
Starting the Allocation Wizard

To start the Storage Provisioning Service wizard, right-click one or more hosts, a file system, a volume group, or a logical volume and select Allocation, Allocate.
Figure 15 Starting Allocation wizard from shortcut menu
The initial dialog box varies, depending on which of the four object types you selected. In Figure 16, a host has been selected.
46
Figure 16 Allocation wizard dialog box for adding storage to a host
47
Table 4 Options for the allocation initial dialog box Option Add Storage to Hosts Description If this host is a member of a cluster, you can add other members of the cluster by dragging them in from the Console. Each entry in the list will have access to the primary devices associated with the storage. Select from an existing list of allocation policies. You can also edit one of these policies or create a new one. Specify the amount of storage you want to allocate. By default, this is treated as the minimum value. To specify a maximum value or range of values, click More Options and select from the list. Click More Options to show these fields. Specify the minimum and maximum number of logical devices to be used. You may want to specify a maximum of one device for a large meta device. You may specify the minimum number of devices to provide improved performance. Click More Options or Fewer Options to hide or show the additional allocation parameters.
Allocation Policy Amount to Allocate
Requested # Devices: Range Min - Max
More Options/Fewer Options
Extending file system, logical volume, or volume group

If you choose to extend a file system, logical volume, or volume group, SPS displays the allocation policy that is used on the file system, logical volume, or volume group. (This screen does not appear if the file system, logical volume, or volume group is on a Symmetrix concatenated meta device or CLARiiON meta device.) SPS selects the policy for which the storage offers the greatest protection. You can edit some of the values, or approve the policy in its default form. SPS implements the policy when extending a host file system, logical volume, or volume group. When you click Next, SPS verifies that each fabric associated with a path in the allocation has a valid zoning policy assigned. If not, an error message appears.
48
Figure 17 Proposed Policy dialog box
Selecting host to have access to replica

If a primary device selected for allocation has a replica, you can specify which hosts will have access to that replica. Often, local replicas get allocated to another server for use in creating backups or running reports.
49
Figure 18 Select Replica Host dialog box
Configuring meta devices

This dialog box is unique in extending file systems based on Symmetrix concatenated meta devices or CLARiiON meta devices. You can drag devices in from elsewhere in the Console and drop them into the dialog box to replace devices that SPS selected, as long as the new device meets the SPS constraints, such as being available and having the proper RAID configuration.
50
Figure 19 Configure Meta Devices dialog box
51
Reviewing path details

Approve or edit the proposed path details, which include host and storage ports, selected logical device, fabric, LUN ID, and other characteristics, as shown in Figure 20 on page 52. You may replace any entry, selected by SPS, which is in a white or lightly shaded field. Simply select the object in the dialog box, and then drag the replacement object from the tree or a view in the Console. The columns may be reordered by dragging the column header to the left or right. You can sort the table by clicking any column header. The Key field makes it easier to sort primary and local pairs in order to keep them together. In most cases, you will not need to edit this table. However, for performance-based applications or other reasons, you might want to review the chosen storage devices, by selecting the device and viewing relationships such as the physical drive to which the device is related. You may also want to review the storage port or HBA port chosen. If the properties file setting for mapping FA ports is changed, then you may want to review the table to confirm that the port assignment is correct, as shown in Figure 20 on page 52 and Figure 21 on page 53. Refer to FA port mapping rules on page 41 for more information on the properties file settings.
Figure 20 Details of Proposed Path Dialog Box with Properties File False (default) Setting
52
Figure 21 Details of Proposed Path dialog box with Properties file True Setting
Figure 22 on page 54 shows how the table appears after you click Show All. SPS provides a set of alternate paths as a convenience feature. Click Show All if you want to change to a different set of ports presented as alternatives. You can clear a proposed path, and then select an alternate path. In addition, you can clear a path if you decide to reduce the amount of storage allocated. Click Show Selected to remove the unselected paths from the display. Click Show Log to see how SPS chose the paths for your allocation request. If SPS could not find appropriate devices, the log provides details to help you analyze why. You should export the data from this dialog box and use the file for review purposes in your provisioning process, including review by change control boards.
53
Figure 22 Details of Proposed Path with Show All
Reviewing the allocation task

Review the proposed final configuration, including the host for replication, general storage specifications, and path details. Note the total size of storage selected. This may not match the original size requested, due to standard logical device sizes or sizes that are available.
54
Figure 23 Review Allocation Task dialog box
For information about executing and managing tasks, refer to Executing allocation and deallocation tasks on page 64.
Deallocating storage
At times, you may have to deallocate storage, for example to:

Reclaim storage that was temporarily allocated to an application or department. Remove storage from a host that is being decommissioned. Migrate an application between hosts. Consolidate storage resources for increased efficiency.
Storage Provisioning Services assists you in deallocating storage by:
Verifying that host file systems, logical volumes, or volume groups are no longer in use before devices that they use are deallocated.
55
Performing tasks that are often overlooked or forgotten when deallocating storage, such as removing masking access rights, removing Symmetrix devices from device groups, and deallocating replica devices when a primary device is deallocated (in your deallocation policy, you can choose which of these tasks is performed).
Deallocating storage with the Storage Provision Service removes the relationship between hosts or unidentified ports and the storage-array devices to which they have access. Table 5 lists starting points for some common deallocation tasks. Refer to Table 6 on page 57 for additional starting points and a list of paths that are presented for deallocation depending on your starting point.
Table 5 Starting points for deallocation tasks To deallocate... All devices from a host. All host devices using a particular HBA. A host device used by a particular application or department. A storage device from all hosts that have access to it. All hosts, HBAs, host devices, and storage devices within a user-defined group (such as an application group). Start the deallocation task here... Host HBA Host device Storage device User-defined group
Note: You can only deallocate Fibre Channel Fabric connected paths; you cannot use the Deallocation wizard to deallocate storage connected through SCSI or Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop.
Deallocation process
The deallocation process through the Storage Provisioning Service includes these steps: 1. Assign deallocation permissions To deallocate storage, you must have permissions to create deallocation policies and to perform deallocation actions on the hosts and arrays involved in the deallocation. 2. Create deallocation policies These policies define the actions to be performed during a deallocation task, such as rediscovering a host, unmapping devices from the front end of a storage array, and dissolving meta devices.
56
3. Select an initial object in the Console Select a host, host device, host port, unidentified port, or storage device. 4. Start the service Select Deallocate from the Allocation menu or by right-clicking and selecting Allocation, Deallocate. 5. Confirm the objects and select a policy - Add or remove objects from the deallocation task and select a policy to use. 6. Select the paths to be deallocated Confirm the paths from host devices to storage devices that will be deallocated and add related paths if necessary. 7. Review the deallocation task Review the final proposed deallocations. 8. Execute immediately or later Add the task to a task list in the tree panel, and start it immediately or defer to a later time. The remainder of this section discusses certain aspects of the deallocation process in more detail.
Understanding deallocation path selection

You can start a deallocation task by selecting one of the objects in Table 6. The Storage Provisioning Service presents all the paths from that object to its storage devices or, if you have selected a storage device, the paths back to host devices and other WWN ports. You can then choose which paths to deallocate.
Table 6 Effects of Deallocation on Managed Objects (1 of 2) Selected Object Host Objects Affected by Deallocation All host devices connected to storage devices through Fibre Channel. All Fibre Channel ports on host. Host Fibre Channel adapter Host Fibre Channel port All host ports on adapter. Paths Presented for Deallocation All paths from host devices to storage devices, and all paths from those devices to other host devices. All paths from WWNs of ports to storage devices, based on masking. All paths from WWNs of ports to storage devices, based on masking, and all paths from those devices to other host devices. All paths from host devices to storage devices through that port, and all paths from those devices to other host devices. All paths from WWN of port to storage devices, based on masking.
57
Host port.
Table 6 Effects of Deallocation on Managed Objects (2 of 2) Selected Object Unidentified port Objects Affected by Deallocation Unidentified port. Paths Presented for Deallocation All paths from WWN of port to storage devices, based on masking, and all paths from those devices to other host devices. All paths from host device to its storage device, and all paths from those devices to other host devices. All paths from known host devices to storage device. All paths from WWNs of ports to storage device, based on masking. Refer to rows above to see which paths are presented for each object type.
Host device
Host device.
Storage device
Storage device.
User-defined group
All hosts, unidentified ports, host devices, and storage devices in the group.
Before you deallocate

The Deallocation wizard removes paths between hosts and storage-array devices. Although the wizard removes all masking and mapping relationships between hosts and storage devices, you still must perform some actions on the host to complete the deallocation process. Before you deallocate host devices: 1. Shut down applications that are using file systems that will be affected. 2. Unmount file systems that will be affected. You will not be able to unmount a file system if an application is still using it. 3. Delete logical volumes and remove host devices from volume groups. 4. Remove the host devices from PowerPath or other multipath configurations. 5. Delete host devices on Windows 2000 hosts. After you perform these steps, you can execute the deallocation task list you created with the SPS Deallocate wizard. When the task list completes successfully, finish the deallocation process by performing the steps in After you deallocate on page 64.
58
Starting Deallocation wizard

To deallocate storage, in the selection tree, right-click any of the objects described in Table 6 on page 57 and select Allocation, Deallocate. The Storage Provisioning Service Deallocation wizard appears. If the Allocation, Deallocate option is disabled, look for an explanation in the Hint Area in the lower-left corner of the Console window. Possible reasons include:
The Deallocation wizard does not support the selected object. Refer to Table 6 on page 57 to see which objects are supported. The selected object is not part of any Fibre Channel-connected paths. Access to the selected object is not managed through masking access rights, or masking is disabled. You selected a storage device that is not mapped to any storage ports. You selected a storage device that is not exposed to any host ports through masking.
To determine whether a host has paths that can be deallocated, drag the host to a Path Details view. For a storage array device, use the Masking view.
Reviewing deallocation paths

After you select the objects you want to deallocate and specify a policy on the first page of the Deallocation Wizard, the Paths to Deallocate screen appears as shown in Figure 24 on page 60.
59
Figure 24 Deallocation wizard - Paths to Deallocate screen
On this screen, select the paths that you want to deallocate by clearing and selecting the checkboxes in the first column of the table. Use shift-click to select or clear a range of contiguous rows. For the objects you selected in the previous wizard screen, all paths between host devices and storage devices are selected.
Choosing paths to deallocate

In addition, the paths of related objects are shown but not selected, including all paths to storage devices. Related paths are shown to ensure that:
You do not unintentionally jeopardize the reliability or performance of host logical objects, for example, reducing the paths between a database and its storage to a single path or corrupting a volume group by removing a logical volume. You do not leave paths intact for storage that you intend to completely deallocate. For example, if you intend to deallocate a storage device and did not select all the associated host devices.
60
Note: If a device is mapped with no masking records, it will not be displayed as a path. However, if the last masked path to a device is deallocated, and unmapping is specified in the deallocation policy, then the device will be unmapped from all ports on the array, including those not displayed in the Paths to Deallocate table.
Ensuring host devices are no longer in use

If a host is still using a host device (indicated by a Yes in the In Use column on the Paths to Deallocate screen), you should manually delete or reconfigure the objects on the host that are using the device before performing the deallocation. SPS does not perform any deallocation actions for host logical objects, such as databases, file systems, logical volumes, and volume groups. You may lose data if you deallocate a device in use by one of these host objects. SPS checks the Repository to determine whether a host device is in use. Information in the Repository is updated when a data collection policy runs or when a feature, such as SPS, updates the information. The host Discovery data collection policy, for example, typically runs once per day. Therefore, the Repository data and In Use column might not reflect the current host configuration. When you execute the task list, if you selected the Rediscover host and fail or error option in the Deallocation policy, SPS checks the host this time, rather than the Repository. If any host devices are in use, the deallocation task fails. If you retry a failed task list, however, SPS does not check again whether devices are in use. If the task list succeeds this time, you may lose data on host file systems, databases, and so on that use the deallocated devices. To determine which objects are using a host device, drag the host device to a Relationship view in the main Console window. Or, click the host device, click Relationship, and select an object type to see how the device is using or is used by other objects of that type. As with the In Use column, Ionix ControlCenter retrieves relationship information from the Repository, so the information reflects the host configuration at the last time it was updated in the Repository.
Deallocating Symmetrix replicas

If you chose the Deallocate replicas if primary deallocated option in the Deallocation policy, host access to any local and remote replicas of a primary device is removed during the deallocation.
61
In addition, some primary devices may have replicas that do not have paths and, therefore, do not appear on the Paths to Deallocate screen. After you click Next on this screen, the wizard lists those replicas in a dialog box. If you selected the Deallocate replicas if primary deallocated option, those replicas will also be deallocated. If you do not want to deallocate those replicas, edit the policy and clear this option. You can edit the policy from the previous or next wizard screen. If you selected the Delete device (CLARiiON) or dissolve meta device if not SRDF (for Symmetrix, requires unmap) option in the Deallocation policy, meta devices that are completely deallocated (all paths to the device are removed) will be dissolved. SRDF (R1 and R2) devices are not dissolved. If Deallocate replicas if primary deallocated is also selected, any replica meta devices that are completely deallocated are also dissolved. However, a replica that does not have any paths is only deallocated if its primary device is completely deallocated. To identify the primary device associated with a replica, drag the replica from the dialog box to an SRDF or TimeFinder view.
Deallocating devices in CLARiiON storage groups

If you are removing a device from a CLARiiON storage group, the Paths to Deallocate screen also shows paths to other storage groups. Make sure the paths to other storage groups are not selected if you do not want to remove the device from those storage groups. To remove all the devices from a storage group, or to remove a hosts access to all the devices in a storage group, you can start the deallocation process from the host (right-click the host and select Allocation, Deallocate). In the Paths to Deallocate screen, make sure you deselect any paths used by the host that are not for the storage group. Storage Provisioning Service does not delete a storage group if it becomes empty. After you remove all devices from a storage group, delete the storage group.
Deallocation behavior in the presence of a Group Naming Service (GNS)

In Service Pack 4 and higher, there is a change in the deallocation behavior for ARM in the presence of a Group Name Service (GNS) and STAR implementation from Solutions Enabler: In previous versions of ARM, when you deallocate a device, if it is an R2 device then ARM will remove the device from all the device groups where it belongs. If the BCV is in two device groups (ie: in R1 device group as a remote BVC and R2 device group as a
62
local BCV), ARM will remove the device from both the device groups. The deallocation will fail when attempting to remove the device from the R2 device group if that group was created and managed by a GNS. In Service Pack 4 and higher, ARM will not remove devices from the R2 device group as the R2 device group could be managed by GNS. In the above example, BCV to R2 will be removed from the R1 device group only and the GNS will automatically mirror the device group in R2 with the BCV removed.
Diagnosing disabled checkboxes

In the Paths to Deallocate screen of the wizard, if a checkbox is disabled, position the cursor over the checkbox to find out why. If the disabled checkbox is not selected, typically this indicates that you do not have the Deallocate Execution permission for the host or array. Refer to Permissions on page 28 for more information about deallocation permissions. If the disabled checkbox is selected, typically this indicates that the path has been selected for deallocation in another task, but the task has not yet executed or the Repository has not been updated.
Executing deallocation task

In the last screen of the wizard, review the deallocation task, and then click Execute to run the task now, or Execute Later to defer the task to a more convenient time. For more information on executing and managing tasks, refer to Executing allocation and deallocation tasks on page 64.
Verifying deallocation actions

After you create a deallocation task, always verify the task actions in the Task List properties view, which appears automatically after you create the task. (For more information, refer to Executing allocation and deallocation tasks on page 64.) As described in Choosing paths to deallocate on page 60, some devices may be unmapped from ports that you did not explicitly select and that are not shown on the Paths to Deallocate screen of the Deallocation wizard. In addition, some primary devices may have replicas that do not have masking records and, therefore, are not visible to hosts. A list of these replicas appears after you click Next on the Paths to Deallocate screen of the Deallocation wizard.
63
If you do not want to deallocate those replicas, edit the deallocation policy and clear the Deallocate replicas if primary deallocated option. You can edit the policy from the first and last screens of the Deallocation wizard. To identify the primary device a replica is associated with, drag the replica to an SRDF or TimeFinder view. Although the wizard dissolves all masking and mapping relationships between hosts and storage devices, you still must perform some actions on the host to complete the deallocation process.
After you deallocate

After you deallocate host devices: 1. Zone out the host if you have deallocated the last logical devices connected to the host from the storage array or if the host is being decommissioned. This operation is often performed during maintenance periods and should not be forgotten. 2. If a deallocated storage device is not already in a storage pool, you may want to add it to a storage pool so that it can be used in a subsequent allocation task.
Executing allocation and deallocation tasks

Add allocation and deallocation tasks to task lists in the tree panel, and start them immediately or defer them to a later time.
Figure 25 Execute dialog boxes
64
After an SPS task has been added to the task list, you can view properties for the task before, during, and after execution. Task Properties, as shown in the next section, provide provisioning action details that will be of interest to change control boards and senior administrators.
Task lists
The Ionix ControlCenter task list provides a means to defer tasks or lists of tasks for future execution. The advantages of deferring tasks include:

Allowing time for technical review or permissions. Ensuring execution time to accommodate shift changes (some allocation tasks may only be performed on a certain shift). Supporting the internal customer review process. Ensuring efficient operation by executing multiple actions from multiple requests in one session.
Task lists differ from scripts in that they execute one time only; they are not a repeated action like a backup batch file operation. You can monitor a task in the target panel, observing the execution of each step. A checkbox in the last dialog box in the Storage Provisioning Service triggers the Properties view for that task list, if immediately executing the new task. Note: Tasks remain in the tree panel until they are manually deleted. Figure 26 shows task lists in the Properties view. Note that some of the task lists have multiple tasks.
65
Figure 26 Properties - Task List Viewer Table
Viewing task list with selected details

If you double-click a task, a second table appears that shows a list of actions required to complete the provisioning request. These actions are low-level Ionix ControlCenter commands that are planned or have been executed. Note that some actions are part of a command session. All the related actions will succeed or fail depending on the success of the session. Each action appears in its own related task except for the session action, which appears in only one of the tasks. The session action follows its list of actions. As shown in Figure 27, the map and unmap actions are part of one port mapping session. In the Task Detail table, select Action's Details to inspect the general properties of an allocation task action, including existing and new sizes. Click an action to see details. In this example, the details are shown for an unmap action. Double-click a task to refocus the table on that task.
66
Figure 27 Task List Viewer with Action Detail table
Viewing commands associated with task action

Select Action's Commands to display a list of Ionix ControlCenter commands executed for each action used to implement an allocation task. Data will appear only if the actions have already executed. A table of discrete commands appears.
67
Figure 28 Task List Command History Table
Zoning changes and zone names

When SPS adds a port to an existing zone, it does not rename the zone. When SPS creates a zone, it defines the zone according to the default zoning policy associated with the fabric that the zone is part of. The Allocation wizard prevents you from proceeding if you attempt to create a path through a fabric that does not have a zoning policy. A zoning policy specifies criteria such as whether port or WWN zoning is used and zone-naming masks. Zoning policies appear in the Storage Administration, Zoning Policies folder in the tree. To create a zoning policy, right-click the Zoning Policies folder and select New, Zoning Policy. Figure 29 on page 69 shows the menu command and Zoning Policy Editor dialog box.
68
Figure 29 New Zoning Policy command and Zoning Policy Editor dialog box
To set the default zoning policy for a fabric, right-click the fabric and select Zoning, Set Default Zoning Policy. You can do this from within the Allocation wizard if necessary. SPS only applies a zoning policy if zone changes are needed to complete an allocation task. If two ports in an allocation path are already zoned, SPS does not verify that the ports are zoned according to the selected policy or modify the zone to satisfy the policy. For more information about zoning policies, refer to the online Help and the EMC ControlCenter Administration/User Guide.
69
Using SAN Manager AutoPath

SPS only allows provisioning of unallocated storage. If you need to provision existing storage to another host in a cluster, then AutoPath is useful for quickly allocating storage that has been already mapped to ports. You may find this operation easier if you split the tree panel into two sections so that you have access to hosts on one section and access to storage devices in the other. 1. Select a logical device. 2. Control-click the host or HBA.
Figure 30 Selecting a device and host before starting AutoPath
3. After the pair is selected, right-click the logical device or host and select Allocation, AutoPath.
70
Figure 31 AutoPath shortcut menu command
The following dialog box appears:
Figure 32 AutoPath dialog box
Table 7 describes the options in the dialog box.

Table 7 Options for the AutoPath dialog box Option No. of Paths Zoned Path Only Description Specify the number of paths you require between host and allocated storage. Limit selection to the current zoned path for the host.
71
Showing reserved devices

Devices that have been set aside for use by pending SPS tasks are considered reserved. Reservations are removed after the logical devices are allocated during task list execution or if a task list is deleted. If a task list fails, including a host rescan failure, reservations are not removed. Delete these task lists to ensure that devices in the task list are no longer reserved. To view these reserved devices, as shown in Figure 33 on page 72, follow this procedure: 1. Right-click a storage pool or the Storage Pool folder, and select Show Reserved Volumes. The Show Reserved Volumes dialog box appears. 2. It is possible to have reserved devices without a task if the server fails before committing the task. If the server fails in such a situation, you can select the reserved devices and click Unreserve.
Figure 33 Show Reserved Volumes dialog box
Provisioning use cases

The following sections describe a variety of use cases that can form the basis of how SPS is implemented.
72
Adding new host

You can use SAN Manager to perform required manual steps when adding a host (or HBA) for the first time. Note that the host must be physically cabled to the managed SAN, and then powered on. This allows the switch to detect the host HBA. Follow the steps in Updating SAN configurations on page 43 to immediately import the SAN changes, or wait until the next day when the SAN is automatically refreshed. Once the host has been added, you can add storage, as described in the next section.
Adding storage to hosts or clustered hosts

To allocate storage to a host, right-click the host in the Console tree panel and select Allocation, Allocate. Alternatively, you can select the host in the tree panel, and then select Allocate from the Allocation menu on the menu bar. The Storage Provisioning Service Add storage to host dialog box appears. Refer to Starting the Allocation Wizard on page 46 for more information.
Adding storage to volume groups

This section applies if host actions were not disabled, as described in Permissions on page 28. 1. In the Console tree panel, expand Hosts, and then a specific host. 2. Expand Volume Groups. 3. Right-click a volume group, and select Allocation, Extend Volume Group. 4. The Extend Volume Group dialog box appears. 5. Specify your required size increase. SPS determines the storage usage for this volume group and presents an allocation policy for review. If a question mark appears in the pool column, you will not be able to continue unless you select a storage pool.
Extending logical volumes

This section applies if host actions were not disabled, as described in Permissions on page 28. 1. In the Console tree panel, expand Hosts, and then a specific host. 2. Expand Volume Groups, and then a specific volume group.
73
3. Right-click a logical volume, and select Allocation, Extend Logical Volume. 4. The Extend Logical Volume dialog box appears. 5. Specify your required size increase. SPS determines the storage usage for this volume group and presents an allocation policy for review. If a question mark appears in the pool column, you will not be able to continue unless you select a storage pool. If the volume is striped, the minimum number of storage volumes will be the stripe column count. You will not be able to change this value. Note: This allocation may be larger than the request size. The following details how much of this storage is actually added to the file system or logical volume: For At most, increase the file system by no more than the specified size. For At least, increase the file system by no less than the specified lower bound. For Range, increase the file system by no less than the specified lower bound and no more than the upper bound.
Extending file systems

This section applies if host actions were not disabled, as described in Creating allocation and deallocation policies on page 33.
Solaris VERITAS file system

To extend a VERITAS file system using SPS: 1. In the Console tree panel, expand Hosts and drill down to locate the VERITAS file system that you want to extend. 2. Right-click the file system and select Allocation, Extend File System. 3. The SPS Allocation Wizard appears. 4. The first screen of the wizard shows the current size and the requested size. Enter the amount of space to extend the file system by and click Next.
74
5. An allocation policy is generated to match storage volumes used by the file system. The second screen shows the policy that will be used to query for devices. If a question mark appears in the pool column, you will not be able to continue unless you select a storage pool. You can also change the suggested pool or make other changes to the policy. Click Next when complete. 6. The third screen shows Path Details for the devices that will be added to the VERITAS volume that is being modified. You may manually override any of the suggestions. Click Next to continue. 7. The final screen is the summary screen that lets you review the provisioning request. You can choose to execute the request now or later. Note: SPS does not support extending file systems managed by VERITAS Volume Manager on Windows hosts.
Solaris or Windows 2000 file system

To extend a file system on a Symmetrix concatenated meta device or CLARiiON device using SPS: 1. In the Console tree panel, expand Hosts and drill down to locate the file system that you want to extend. 2. Right-click the file system and select Allocation, Extend File System. 3. The SPS Allocation Wizard appears. The first screen of the wizard shows the current size and the requested size. 4. Enter the amount of space to extend the file system by and click Next. 5. The second screen displays the policy that will be used to query for devices. If a question mark appears in the pool column, you will not be able to continue unless you select a storage pool. You can also change the suggested pool or make any other changes to the policy. 6. Click Next. 7. The third screen displays the current meta device and its members and also suggests devices that it will add as members. 8. If you do not like the suggestions provided, manually replace the selected devices. Click Next.
75
9. The final screen lets you review the provisioning request. After review, you can choose to execute the request now or later.
Extending striped logical volumes

If you are extending a striped logical volume or a file system on a striped logical volume, the Allocation wizard may have to allocate more storage to the associated volume group than you requested because of the device sizes available. For example, if you request to extend by 1 GB a logical volume that is striped across three devices, and there are only 1 GB devices available, then the Allocation wizard allocates three devices to the volume group, for a total of 3 GB. However, the Allocation wizard only extends the logical volume (and file system, if requested) by the requested 1 GB, leaving 2 GB for future allocations to the logical volume or for other logical volumes in the volume group. If you are extending a concatenated logical volume or a file system on a concatenated logical volume, the volume (and file system, if requested) is extended by the entire amount that is allocated to the volume group. Keep these differences in mind when later reviewing the details of your allocation tasks in the task list.
Prezoning to constrain paths

You should prezone and constrain path choices if you have configured your environment so that HBAs are reserved for connectivity to backup tape drives or arrays.
Using ARM active commands

You can perform host actions using ARM dialog boxes independent of SPS operations. To extend or shrink a VERITAS file system using only storage resources that are currently configured on the host: 1. Explore and find the VERITAS file system that you want to extend or shrink. 2. Right-click the file system and select Allocation, Manually, Extend File System or Shrink File System. The File System Resize dialog box appears and prompts you to enter a new size for the VERITAS file system. To extend or shrink a logical volume using only storage resources that are currently configured on the host:
76
1. Explore and find the volume that you want to extend or shrink. 2. Right-click the volume and select Allocation> Manually> Extend Logical/VERITAS Volume or Shrink Logical/VERITAS Volume. The Extend/Shrink a Logical Volume dialog box (AIX, HP-UX, or Solaris) appears and prompts you for new size information for the volume. To extend or reduce a volume group on a host using only storage resources that are currently configured on the host: 1. Explore and find the volume group. 2. Right-click the volume group and select Allocation, Manually, Extend Volume Group or Host, Reduce:
If you choose Extend, the Extend a Volume Group dialog box appears and allows you to specify the physical volumes that you want to add to the volume group. If you choose Reduce, the Reduce a Volume Group dialog box appears and allows you to specify the physical volumes that you want to remove from the volume group.
Provisioning clusters
Clusters can be provisioned in the same way a single host is provisioned. You must select the set of hosts initially, or drag the other hosts into the first SPS dialog box. In addition, a dialog box lets you select additional hosts for local snapshots or remote copies. Clusters require special maintenance beyond simply allocating the same storage to multiple hosts. There are often lists of storage that need to be maintained on all the servers, or volume manager configurations that need to be modified on each host.
Adding new host to a cluster

You may be required to add a host to a cluster, or create a cluster after allocating storage to the original host. Use AutoPath to provide this allocation since the previously allocated logical devices will not be selected for allocation to the new host using the SPS dialog box. Determine the list of devices using the Relationship view.
Platform-specific configuration information

The following sections contain configuration information for each of the platforms and VERITAS.
77
Solaris The sd.conf file

If your Solaris server does not have a blanket sd.conf file (i.e., every LUN is enabled on all targets), then a reboot will be required after allocation to update the Solaris kernel. If you choose not to use a blanket sd.conf file, SPS will create entries in your sd.conf for you. The changes will be logged so that you know when these changes were made. The following text shows a sample portion of the sd.conf file:
# The following entries were added by ControlCenter. # Fri Oct 4 13:12:54 2004 name="sd" parent="lpfc" target=0 lun=17; name="sd" parent="lpfc" target=1 lun=17; name="sd" parent="lpfc" target=2 lun=17; name="sd" parent="lpfc" target=3 lun=17; name="sd" parent="lpfc" target=4 lun=17; name="sd" parent="lpfc" target=5 lun=17; name="sd" parent="lpfc" target=6 lun=17; ---End of ECC-generated records--# # The following entries were added by ControlCenter. # Fri Oct 4 13:12:56 2004 name="sd" name="sd" name="sd" name="sd" name="sd" name="sd" name="sd" name="sd" ---End of parent="lpfc" parent="lpfc" parent="lpfc" parent="lpfc" parent="lpfc" parent="lpfc" parent="lpfc" parent="lpfc" ECC-generated target=8 lun=17; target=9 lun=17; target=10 lun=17; target=11 lun=17; target=12 lun=17; target=13 lun=17; target=14 lun=17; target=15 lun=17; records---
For the safety of your server, SPS creates backups of previous sd.conf files. A rolling backup of 10 sd.conf files is saved so that you can easily revert to a previous version if you encounter any difficulty. A backup file is created for each LUN ID added.
Rebooting and blanket sd.conf files

If you use a blanket sd.conf file, you should not have to reboot your host; however, depending on driver and firmware versions, there is no guarantee. If the SPS Rescan I/O action fails saying that it did not find any devices, we recommend that you run a
78
reconfigure reboot (reboot -- -r) to present the devices to the host. If you do not use a blanket sd.conf file, a reboot is required to load the new sd.conf file parameters into the kernel. Note: Boot times are extended if a blanket sd.conf file is configured.
Persistent binding of LUNs

As all host fibre adapter vendors use different methods for persistent binding, SPS does not currently persistently bind LUNs for you. After SPS edits your sd.conf file, you must edit the entries and other files as designated by your HBA vendor to persistently bind LUNs.
Windows 2000 Reboot

When allocating to a Windows hosts, more often than not, you will not have to reboot. However, depending on adapter type, driver, and firmware versions, a reboot may be necessary. If the devices are not presented to the host after the SPS Rescan I/O command, reboot the host to present the devices.
HP-UX Volume set addressing

Ensure that ports that are used for HP hosts are set properly, and LUN IDs are set using volume set addressing rules. SPS will ensure that devices are mapped to ports that specify volume set addressing.
VERITAS Mirrored volumes

Volumes that are mirrored through the volume manager should not be extended by SPS. Most arrays provide mirrored or RAID protection through hardware that provides better performance.
79
Provisioning hosts discovered in the SAN

In a large environment, the FCC Agent will discover many more host HBA ports than those that are directly managed. You can use the following method to create hosts from these ports, and then use SPS to provision storage to them.
Converting Unidentified Ports to Host Ports for SPS Use

This section describes how to create a host, adapter, and port using an unidentified port discovered by the FCC Agent.
Unidentified ports are physical ports that are not associated with an adapter. They are
accessed in the Connectivity> Unidentified Ports folder in the tree panel. To identify an unidentified port with a user-defined object: 1. In the Console tree panel, expand Connectivity, Unidentified Ports. 2. Right-click an unidentified port, and select Topology> Associate Port. 3. The Associate wizard appears with the port WWN and vendor displayed. 4. Select a host from the list of user-defined objects, and click Next. 5. Select the container you want to identify with the unidentified port, and click Next. 6. On the final page of the wizard, review the fields that are to be set for the associated port and click Finished, or click Back to make changes. 7. Verify that a new adapter appears in the tree. Expand the Hosts folder, the host with which you associated the port, and then Adapters. Note: If you have mistakenly identified a port, you can use the Associate wizard to reidentify the port with the correct device.
Restrictions on hosts with manually associated ports

Do not attempt host actions on hosts that have manually associated ports. The host agent must be able to properly set attributes in order for SPS to correctly determine paths for that port. Create policies for those hosts that have host actions disabled. Refer to Preventing Actions on a host on page 91 for more information.
80
Reducing number of outstanding tasks

Task lists will remain in the system until removed. You can enter and save a list to execute later and this list will stay in the pending status until it is executed or deleted. Note that pending tasks have associated storage on reserve and this storage cannot be released for another use unless the task is deleted. Use caution when creating tasks to be executed in the future as this can have significant impact on the storage available for SPS provisioning on a day-to-day basis. Use caution using manual tools like Symmetrix Device Reallocation (SDR), since selecting the wrong logical device with SDR may impact a future SPS task. SDR warns you if a logical device is reserved. Task lists that have been executed will remain until someone deletes the task list. As you begin to use Storage Provisioning Service more, the number of tasks and task lists may become visual clutter that you might prefer to reduce periodically.
Managing task lists

One way to eliminate the visual clutter of many task lists is to remove completed task lists. Lists are sorted in alphabetical order, so if you have a need to maintain these lists, they can be easily renamed. Adding a z as a prefix, for example, forces the task list to sort to the bottom of the list, leaving the current task lists to be displayed first.
Working with mirrored fabrics

Many hosts connected via multipath software have each HBA or set of HBAs connect to separate fabrics. SPS suggests allocation paths that mirror the volumes through the different fabrics. Task list execution modifies both fabrics. If you have a business rule that prevents both fabrics from being modified at the same time, use SPS to allocate the storage and print or export the path details. Using SAN Manager on the first day, create a zone through one of the fabrics specified by the path details. Use SPS execution to perform the multipath allocation on the second day. SPS will detect that the first fabric has already changed and will only modify the second fabric.
81
82
CHAPTER 3 Troubleshooting
This chaper describes errors that may occur due to external forces such as servers that are shut down, administrators that use other applications that conflict with Storage Provisioning Services (SPS), and normal errors due to malfunctioning hardware. In most cases, the errors may be examined and corrective action applied. This chapter contains the following sections:

List of possible trouble conditions.................................................................... 83 Matching allocation tasks to log files................................................................ 87
List of possible trouble conditions

Retrying a failed operation
If an operation fails and you have resolved the conflict or would like to try again, right-click the failed task list and select Retry. SPS rebuilds a task list immediately before executing it for the first time. However, it does not rebuild the task list if you try to execute the task list again. If you made changes to the environment between executions (for example, if a fabric was associated with the wrong zoning policy, and you corrected it), you must run the SPS wizard again to rebuild the task list.
Host rescan failure

If the host rescan action fails, it is often because the rescan action cannot find new host devices that have been zoned and unmasked to the chosen HBA.
Solaris
If you allocate to Solaris, and the Rescan I/O action fails with the message:
Did not find any new devices.
The sd.conf was updated, and you need to reboot the host with the command:
Troubleshooting
83
Troubleshooting
reboot -- -r
Verify the changes to the sd.conf file.
HP-UX
If you allocate storage to HP-UX host devices, and the Rescan I/O action fails with the message: Could not match one or more allocated paths to any host devices. A Reboot of the host may be necessary. Perform the following procedure: 1. Issue the following commands on the host: ioscan -fnC disk
insf -e -C disk
2. In the Ionix ControlCenter Console, right-click the host and select Rediscover. After the rediscovery finishes, verify whether the new devices were allocated to the host. 1. In the Console tree panel, expand Hosts and then the host to which you want to allocate the storage. 2. Right-click the Host Devices folder and select Properties. If the new devices appear in the Properties view, right-click the task list and select Retry.
Windows 2000
Rescan will work depending on the HBA type and other conditions. Some HBAs that successfully rescan once will fail finding new logical devices on the second rescan. Reboot the host if the rescan action fails to discover the new devices.
Determining why no devices were found

Resource selection inside SPS uses database queries to discover available logical devices that meet criteria and constraints in the allocation policy. For performance, there is one large query that returns available logical devices or an error. If SPS did not find devices to match your request, you can review the Allocation Request Details log to find out why.
84
Troubleshooting
To view the Allocation Request Details log, click Show Log on the Details of Proposed Path page of the Allocation wizard. A detailed analysis (called the Primary Analysis) appears at the bottom of the log. Scroll to the bottom of the Allocation Request Details dialog box to see the Primary Analysis. The analysis shows which candidate devices meet the constraints (such as RAID level or device size) of the allocation request. After you review the Primary Analysis to see which constraints prevented SPS from locating appropriate devices, you can modify your request. For example, you can:
Change the constraints on the first page of the wizard, such as the amount of storage you are requesting or the number of devices. Modify the constraints in the allocation policy, such as the RAID level, replication class, or whether meta devices must be used. Add devices to the storage pool used in this request. Ensure the new devices meet the constraints that caused this request to fail. Choose a different storage pool in the allocation policy. Choose a pool that contains devices that meet the constraints of the request.
At the top of the log, after the allocation request details, a list of the Storage Provisioning Service actions and results appears. Scroll through the list to see how SPS chose devices and paths for your allocation request (or, if the request failed, why it failed). The log refers to amounts and sizes of devices. To see the actual names of the devices SPS evaluated, click Details. You can also use the following methods to determine why the Allocation Wizard did not find requested devices.
Topology
Ensure that the chosen host is connected through a SAN using Topology view. You can verify that the storage type chosen in the topology is also connected to the same fabric.
Storage Pools
Use the Free Space view on the storage pool in the allocation policy. It will provide a table of available logical devices. You will then need to sort the table by the device type to match the RAID level in the policy. Also, you will need to verify that the storage type in the policy matches the arrays in the Storage column.
List of possible trouble conditions
85
Troubleshooting
Policies containing replicas

The primary device and replica specify their own pools. You need to verify that there are available BCVs in the pool, and ensure that each R1 device has an associated R2 with it.
Ports
If ports do not have LUN ID slots available, then path selection might fail. You can use the Free Space view from the host and drill down to storage ports to see if there are available slots. Also, the Properties view for the port shows the number of devices on the port. In addition, certain hosts, like HP-UX, require appropriate port flag settings for the Symmetrix array.
Constraints
Disable storage policy constraints to see if available logical devices are selected. This will give you a clue as to where the problem might be. Each checkbox in the storage policy editor is considered a constraint.
Refreshing information in the console

There are cases where updates are not immediately visible in the Console. The host agent will need to reload the Ionix ControlCenter database with updated configuration data after SPS is executed. By default, host agents update their host configuration after midnight. If you cannot wait until the next day, you may force an update by following instructions in Updating host configurations on page 42. Large hosts can take up to an hour to have their configuration updated in the Console.
Disk count in VERITAS volume group

There are no checks to ensure that storage provisioning does not attempt to allocate logical devices to a VERITAS volume group beyond the VERITAS limits. If the limit is reached, the allocation will fail and the devices provisioned to the host may be unallocated manually.
LUN IDs greater than 255 on a Symmetrix array

SDR can create LUN IDs greater than 255, and some hosts may see them, but other hosts may be prevented from accessing LUN IDs that high. SPS will select any available LUN on a storage port including one of these. Unmap all available LUNs greater than 255 if you do not want SPS to select them.
86
Troubleshooting
Matching allocation tasks to log files

Table 8 on page 87 matches common allocation tasks to specific log files. The log files can then be used to analyze task failures. The value of <agent> varies according to the platform on which the agent is installed.
Table 8 Locations of log files for troubleshooting task failures Task Allocation task Map device Log File Server log file. C:\ecc\ecc_inf\data\<host>\data\*.trc* Storage Agent for Symmetrix log file from the host where the primary agent is running. /usr/ecc/exec/EGS520/*.log SYMAPI log file from the host where the primary agent is running. /usr/emc/API/symapi/log/*.log Host agent log file. /usr/ecc/exec/<agent>/*.log C:\ecc\ecc_inf\<agent>\MNR520\*.log Symmetrix SDM Agent log file from the host where the primary Storage Agent for Symmetrix. /usr/ecc/exec/EGF520/*.log FCC Agent log file. /usr/ecc/exec/EGN520/*.log
Symmetrix port mapping session Rescan I/O paths
Refresh device masking
Fibre Channel
Matching allocation tasks to log files
87
Troubleshooting
88
CHAPTER 4 Host Agent Actions

Storage Provisioning Services (SPS) executes commands on servers managed by Ionix ControlCenter host agents. This chapter describes those system commands so that you can automate equivalent programs that system administrators execute manually. This chapter also describes which Ionix ControlCenter action will cause the command to be executed. Authorization for these commands is set through the Ionix ControlCenter security management dialog box. Only those with SPS execution permission may execute the following provisioning actions. The server system administrator can prevent any automated host action by adding a setting to the server .ini file, as described in Preventing Actions on a host on page 91. This chapter contains the following sections:
List of actions................................................................................................... 89
List of actions
Bus rescan
Solaris and Windows 2000 bus rescans are performed for all SPS commands in order for the host to discover new logical devices presented.
Edit sd.conf
It is necessary to edit the Solaris disk configuration file, sd.conf, in order to add the new LUNs presented to the host. The system administrator will need to do a reconfiguration reboot if SPS adds an entry since in that case, the bus rescan will not discover the new disk. sd.conf is edited on every SPS configuration.
Host Agent Actions
89
Host Agent Actions
Expand Solaris VERITAS Volume Manager storage with PowerPath on CLARiiON array
If you have this configuration, refer to the following document on Powerlink for critical setup information: PowerPath and VERITAS Volume Manager (Solaris) with CLARiiON Storage Systems.
PowerPath reconfiguration
The PowerPath reconfiguration command is executed on those systems running PowerPath. This action is executed whenever storage is added to a host.
Add disks to VERITAS disk groups or PowerPath volume groups

All storage allocations to VERITAS or PowerPath Logical Volume Manager disk groups, logical volumes, and file systems execute this action.
Expand VERITAS or PowerPath logical volumes

This action is taken when expanding a logical volume or file system mounted on a logical volume.
Expand VERITAS or UFS file systems

This action is taken when expanding a file system mounted on a VERITAS or PowerPath logical volume.
Expand Solaris file system on slice number 2

This action is taken when expanding a file system mounted on a Symmetrix concatenated meta device.
Expand Windows 2000 or Windows 2003 volume

This action is taken when expanding a file system mounted on a Symmetrix concatenated meta device.
90
Host Agent Actions
Preventing Actions on a host

In some environments, a different group of administrators manages the host system and they do not allow provisioning changes to be made by administrators outside their group. You can use either of the following two techniques to prevent actions on a host from occurring:
Policy Select the Disable Host Action option in the Allocation Policy Editor or Deallocation Policy Editor dialog box to prevent host actions. Host Based Edit the host agent configuration file (/usr/ecc/exec/msr520/msr.ini for Solaris and C:\ecc\exec\msr520\mnr.ini for Windows) to include the following lines:
# [[MNR]] Disable_SPS=YES #
This entry will prevent SPS from executing host functions, overriding values specified in the allocation or deallocation policy. This will prevent accidental actions from happening if the wrong policy is used.
List of actions
91
Host Agent Actions
92

Ionix - 300 006 378

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Ionix - 300 006 378

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

EMC Ionix ControlCenter

Storage Provisioning Services Allocating and Deallocating Storage

Storage Provisioning Services Allocating and Deallocating Storage

Preface Chapter 1 Overviewsible Body Tag

Storage Provisioning Services

Host Agent Actions

Storage Provisioning Services Allocating and Deallocating Storage

Storage Provisioning Services Allocating and Deallocating Storage

Storage Provisioning Services Allocating and Deallocating Storage

Conventions used in this document

Storage Provisioning Services Allocating and Deallocating Storage

Courier bold Courier italic

Storage Provisioning Services Allocating and Deallocating Storage

Where to get help

Storage Provisioning Services Allocating and Deallocating Storage

Storage Provisioning Services Allocating and Deallocating Storage

CHAPTER 1 Overviewsible Body Tag

Whats in this document .................................................................................. 12

Overviewsible Body Tag

Overviewsible Body Tag

Whats in this document

Storage Provisioning Services Allocating and Deallocating Storage

CHAPTER 2 Storage Provisioning Services

Storage Provisioning Services

Storage Provisioning Services

What can be provisioned

Thin device provisioning

What cannot be provisioned

Storage Provisioning Services Allocating and Deallocating Storage

Storage Provisioning Services

What cannot be deallocated

Provisioning process: Best practices

Configuring your storage

Storage Provisioning Services

Entering provisioning requests

Saving requests as tasks

Storage Provisioning Services Allocating and Deallocating Storage

Storage Provisioning Services

Reviewing task and action details

Organizing tasks for execution

Provisioning process: Best practices

Storage Provisioning Services

Executing and monitoring provisioning requests

Mixing low-level configuration changes with SPS

Figure 1 Rebuild Task List command

Storage Provisioning Services Allocating and Deallocating Storage

Storage Provisioning Services

Configuring the environment for provisioning

Configuring the environment for provisioning

Storage Provisioning Services

Storage Provisioning Services Allocating and Deallocating Storage

Storage Provisioning Services

Installing and starting agents

Using Agent and Properties view

Storage Provisioning Services

Figure 2 Agents view and Properties view

Storage Agent for Symmetrix and Symmetrix SDM Agent

Storage Provisioning Services Allocating and Deallocating Storage

Storage Provisioning Services

Figure 3 Storage arrays listed in tree panel

Storage Agent for CLARiiON

Configuring the environment for provisioning