HP StoreVirtual 4000 User Manual

HP StoreVirtual Storage User Guide

Abstract

This guide provides instructions for configuring individual storage systems, as well as for creating storage clusters, volumes, snapshots, and remote copies.

HP Part Number: AX696-96269

Published: March 2013

Edition: 10

© Copyright 2009, 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.

Confidential computer software. Valid license from HP required for possession, use or copying. Consistent with FAR 12.211 and 12.212, Commercial Computer Software, Computer Software Documentation, and Technical Data for Commercial Items are licensed to the U.S. Government under vendor's standard commercial license.

The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.

Acknowledgements

Microsoft, Windows, Windows XP, and Windows NT are U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

Contents
1 Getting started.........................................................................................	14
Creating storage with HP StoreVirtual Storage............................................................................	14
Configuring storage systems.....................................................................................................	15
Creating a storage volume using the Management Groups, Clusters, and Volumes wizard...............	15
Enabling server access to volumes............................................................................................	16
Using the Map View...............................................................................................................	17
Using the display tools.......................................................................................................	17
Using views and layouts......................................................................................................	17
Setting preferences.................................................................................................................	18
Setting the font size and locale............................................................................................	18
Setting naming conventions.................................................................................................	18
Changing naming conventions........................................................................................	18
Troubleshooting......................................................................................................................	19
Storage systems not found...................................................................................................	19
Configuring remote support for HP StoreVirtual Storage...............................................................	19
2 Working with storage systems....................................................................	21
Identifying the storage system hardware.....................................................................................	21
Storage system tasks...............................................................................................................	22
Logging in to and out of storage systems ..............................................................................	22
Logging out of a storage system .....................................................................................	22
Changing the storage system hostname................................................................................	22
Locating the storage system in a rack....................................................................................	22
Powering off or rebooting the storage system .............................................................................	23
Powering on or off, or rebooting storage systems with modular components...............................	23
Rebooting the storage system...............................................................................................	24
Powering off the storage system...........................................................................................	24
Upgrading LeftHand OS on storage systems...............................................................................	25
Registering advanced features for a storage system ....................................................................	25
Determining volume and snapshot availability............................................................................	25
Checking status of dedicated boot devices ................................................................................	26
Checking boot device status................................................................................................	26
Getting there................................................................................................................	26
Replacing a dedicated boot device......................................................................................	27
3 Configuring RAID and Managing Disks.......................................................	28
Getting there..........................................................................................................................	28
Configuring and managing RAID..............................................................................................	28
RAID Levels............................................................................................................................	28
Explaining RAID devices in the RAID setup report.......................................................................	29
RAID devices by RAID type.................................................................................................	29
Virtual RAID devices......................................................................................................	30
Planning the RAID configuration...............................................................................................	30
Data protection..................................................................................................................	30
Using RAID for data redundancy.....................................................................................	30
Using Network RAID in a cluster.....................................................................................	31
Using disk RAID with Network RAID in a cluster.....................................................................	31
Mixing RAID configurations.................................................................................................	32
Setting RAID rebuild rate.........................................................................................................	32
General guidelines for setting the RAID rebuild rate................................................................	32
Setting the RAID rebuild rate...............................................................................................	32
Reconfiguring RAID.................................................................................................................	33

Contents 3

To reconfigure RAID...........................................................................................................	33
Reconfiguring RAID for a P4800 G2 with 2 TB drives.............................................................	33
Monitoring RAID status............................................................................................................	34
Data reads and writes and RAID status.................................................................................	34
Data redundancy and RAID status........................................................................................	34
Managing disks.....................................................................................................................	35
Getting there.....................................................................................................................	35
Reading the disk report on the Disk Setup tab........................................................................	35
Verifying disk status............................................................................................................	37
Viewing disk status for the VSA.......................................................................................	37
Viewing disk status for the HP P4500 G2.........................................................................	37
Viewing disk status for the HP P4300 G2.........................................................................	38
Viewing disk status for the P4800 G2..............................................................................	39
Viewing disk status for the P4900 G2 .............................................................................	39
Viewing disk status for the HP StoreVirtual 4130................................................................	40
Viewing disk status for the HP StoreVirtual 4330................................................................	41
Viewing the disk status for the HP StoreVirtual 4530...........................................................	41
Viewing the disk status for the HP StoreVirtual 4630..........................................................	42
Viewing the disk status for the HP StoreVirtual 4730...........................................................	43
Replacing a disk.....................................................................................................................	44
Using Repair Storage System...............................................................................................	45
Replacing disks in hot-swap storage systems..........................................................................	45
Preparing for a disk replacement.........................................................................................	46
Replacing a disk in a hot-swap storage system ......................................................................	47
Troubleshooting......................................................................................................................	48
4 Managing the network..............................................................................	49
Network best practices............................................................................................................	49
Changing network configurations.............................................................................................	50
Managing settings on network interfaces...................................................................................	50
TCP status tab....................................................................................................................	50
Changing speed and duplex settings....................................................................................	51
Changing NIC frame size...................................................................................................	52
Jumbo frames...............................................................................................................	52
Editing the NIC frame size..............................................................................................	53
Changing NIC flow control.................................................................................................	53
The TCP/IP tab.......................................................................................................................	54
Identifying the network interfaces.........................................................................................	54
Pinging an IP address.........................................................................................................	54
To ping an IP address....................................................................................................	55
Configuring the IP address manually.........................................................................................	55
Using DHCP..........................................................................................................................	55
Configuring network interface bonds.........................................................................................	56
Bonding with 10 GbE interfaces..........................................................................................	56
Supported bonds with 10 GbE........................................................................................	57
Unsupported bonds with 10 GbE....................................................................................	58
IP address for NIC bonds....................................................................................................	58
NIC bonding and speed, duplex, frame size, and flow control settings......................................	58
How Active-Passive bonding works.......................................................................................	59
Physical and logical interfaces........................................................................................	59
Which physical interface is preferred...............................................................................	60
Summary of NIC status during failover.............................................................................	60
Example network cabling topologies with Active-Passive.....................................................	60
How link aggregation dynamic mode bonding works.............................................................	62
Which physical interface is preferred...............................................................................	62

4Contents

Which physical interface is active....................................................................................	62
Summary of NIC states during failover.............................................................................	63
Example network cabling topologies with link aggregation dynamic mode...........................	63
How Adaptive Load Balancing works ..................................................................................	64
Which physical interface is preferred...............................................................................	64
Which physical interface is active....................................................................................	64
Summary of NIC states during failover.............................................................................	65
Example network cabling topologies with Adaptive Load Balancing ....................................	65
Creating a NIC bond.........................................................................................................	66
Creating the bond.........................................................................................................	67
Verify communication setting for new bond.......................................................................	68
Viewing the status of a NIC bond........................................................................................	68
Deleting a NIC bond..........................................................................................................	70
Disabling a network interface...................................................................................................	71
Configuring a disabled interface..........................................................................................	72
Using a DNS server................................................................................................................	72
Editing DNS settings...........................................................................................................	72
Setting up routing...................................................................................................................	73
Adding routing information.................................................................................................	73
Editing routing information..................................................................................................	73
Deleting routing information................................................................................................	74
Configuring storage system communication................................................................................	74
Selecting the interface used by the LeftHand OS ...................................................................	74
Updating the list of manager IP addresses.............................................................................	75
Fibre Channel .......................................................................................................................	76
5 Setting the date and time..........................................................................	77
Management group time.........................................................................................................	77
Getting there..........................................................................................................................	77
Refreshing the management group time.....................................................................................	77
Using NTP.............................................................................................................................	77
Editing NTP servers............................................................................................................	78
Deleting an NTP server.......................................................................................................	78
Delete an NTP server.....................................................................................................	78
Changing the order of NTP servers .....................................................................................	78
Editing the date and time.........................................................................................................	79
Editing the time zone only........................................................................................................	79
6 Managing authentication..........................................................................	80
Managing administrative users.................................................................................................	80
Adding an administrative user.............................................................................................	80
Editing administrative users.................................................................................................	80
Changing a user’s description.........................................................................................	80
Changing a user’s password..........................................................................................	80
Adding group membership to a user................................................................................	80
Removing group membership from a user.........................................................................	80
Deleting an administrative user.......................................................................................	81
Managing administrative groups..............................................................................................	81
Default administrative groups...............................................................................................	81
Adding administrative groups.........................................................................................	82
Editing administrative groups...............................................................................................	82
Changing the group description......................................................................................	82
Changing administrative group permissions......................................................................	82
Adding users to an existing group...................................................................................	82
Removing users from a group..........................................................................................	82
Deleting administrative groups........................................................................................	82

Contents 5

Using Active Directory for external authentication........................................................................	83
Configuring external authentication......................................................................................	84
Associating the Active Directory group with the LeftHand OS group..........................................	84
Removing the Active Directory configuration..........................................................................	85
7 Monitoring the SAN.................................................................................	86
Monitoring SAN status............................................................................................................	86
Customizing the SAN Status Page .......................................................................................	87
Using the SAN Status Page.................................................................................................	88
Alarms and events overview.....................................................................................................	88
Working with alarms...............................................................................................................	90
Filtering the alarms list........................................................................................................	90
Viewing and copying alarm details......................................................................................	91
Viewing alarms in a separate window..................................................................................	91
Exporting alarm data to a .csv file.......................................................................................	91
Configuring events..................................................................................................................	91
Changing the event retention period.....................................................................................	91
Configuring remote log destinations.....................................................................................	92
Viewing events in a separate window...................................................................................	92
Working with events...............................................................................................................	92
Viewing new events............................................................................................................	92
Filtering the events list.........................................................................................................	92
Saving filter views.........................................................................................................	93
Deleting custom filters....................................................................................................	93
Viewing event details..........................................................................................................	93
Copying events to the clipboard...........................................................................................	94
Exporting event data to a .csv or .txt file...............................................................................	94
Configuring email notification..................................................................................................	94
Configuring the email server................................................................................................	94
Configuring email recipients................................................................................................	95
Configuring SNMP.................................................................................................................	95
Enabling SNMP agents.......................................................................................................	96
Enabling the SNMP agent..............................................................................................	96
Configuring access control for SNMP clients.....................................................................	96
Adding an SNMP client............................................................................................	96
Editing access control entries......................................................................................	97
Deleting access control entries....................................................................................	97
Disabling the SNMP agent.............................................................................................	97
Disabling SNMP......................................................................................................	97
Adding SNMP traps...........................................................................................................	97
Using the SNMP MIBs........................................................................................................	99
Troubleshooting SNMP.....................................................................................................	100
Running diagnostic reports.....................................................................................................	100
Generating a hardware information report...............................................................................	101
Using log files......................................................................................................................	104
Saving log files locally......................................................................................................	104
Configuring a remote log and remote log destination...........................................................	104
Editing remote log targets.................................................................................................	104
Deleting remote logs........................................................................................................	105
Exporting the management group support bundle.....................................................................	105
Exporting the storage system support bundle............................................................................	105
Exporting the System Summary...............................................................................................	106
8 Working with management groups...........................................................	107
Functions of management groups............................................................................................	107
Planning management groups................................................................................................	107

6Contents

Creating a management group..............................................................................................	108
Name the management group and add storage systems.......................................................	108
Add administrative user....................................................................................................	109
Set management group time..............................................................................................	109
Set DNS server................................................................................................................	109
Set up email for notification...............................................................................................	109
Create cluster and assign a VIP.........................................................................................	109
Create a volume and finish creating management group.......................................................	110
Logging in to a management group ...................................................................................	110
Management group map view tab.....................................................................................	110
Configuration Summary overview...........................................................................................	110
Reading the configuration summary....................................................................................	111
Optimal configurations................................................................................................	111
Configuration warnings................................................................................................	111
Configuration errors.....................................................................................................	112
Configuration guidance....................................................................................................	112
Best Practice summary overview..............................................................................................	113
Disk level data protection..................................................................................................	114
Disk protection using RAID...........................................................................................	114
Large single-system SATA cluster....................................................................................	114
Disk RAID Consistency.................................................................................................	114
Cluster-level data protection...............................................................................................	114
Volume-level data protection..............................................................................................	115
Volume access.................................................................................................................	115
Systems running managers................................................................................................	115
Network bonding............................................................................................................	115
Network bond consistency................................................................................................	115
Network flow control consistency.......................................................................................	115
Network frame size consistency.........................................................................................	115
Management group maintenance tasks...................................................................................	115
Logging in to a management group....................................................................................	115
Choosing which storage system to log in to.....................................................................	116
Logging out of a management group..................................................................................	116
Adding a storage system to an existing management group...................................................	116
Starting and stopping managers........................................................................................	116
Starting additional managers........................................................................................	116
Stopping managers.....................................................................................................	117
Implications of stopping managers............................................................................	117
Editing a management group............................................................................................	117
Setting or changing the local bandwidth priority.............................................................	117
Saving the management group configuration information......................................................	118
Shutting down a management group.......................................................................................	118
If volumes are still connected to servers or hosts...................................................................	118
Restarting the management group......................................................................................	119
Restarted management group in maintenance mode........................................................	119
Manually changing the management group to normal mode.............................................	119
Removing a storage system from a management group..............................................................	120
Deleting a management group...............................................................................................	120
9 Working with managers and quorum........................................................	122
Managers overview..............................................................................................................	122
Best practice for managers in a management group.............................................................	122
Managers and quorum.....................................................................................................	123
Regular managers and specialized managers......................................................................	123
Failover Managers......................................................................................................	124

Contents 7

Virtual Managers........................................................................................................	124
Using the Failover Manager...................................................................................................	125
Planning the virtual network configuration...........................................................................	125
Using the Failover Manager on Microsoft Hyper-V Server......................................................	125
Installing the Failover Manager for Hyper-V Server...........................................................	126
Uninstalling the Failover Manager from Hyper-V Server....................................................	126
Using the Failover Manager for VMware vSphere................................................................	127
Installing the Failover Manager for VMware vSphere.......................................................	127
Installing the Failover Manager for other VMware platforms..............................................	128
Configuring the IP address and host name.................................................................	128
Installing the Failover Manager using the OVF files with the VI Client.................................	129
Configure the IP address and host name....................................................................	129
Finishing up with VI Client.......................................................................................	129
Troubleshooting the Failover Manager on VMware vSphere..............................................	129
Uninstalling the Failover Manager from VMware vSphere.................................................	130
Using a virtual manager........................................................................................................	130
Requirements for using a virtual manager............................................................................	131
Adding a virtual manager.................................................................................................	132
Starting a virtual manager to regain quorum.......................................................................	133
Verifying virtual manager status.........................................................................................	134
Stopping a virtual manager...............................................................................................	134
Removing a virtual manager from a management group.......................................................	135
10 Working with clusters............................................................................	136
Clusters and storage systems..................................................................................................	136
Creating a cluster.................................................................................................................	136
Cluster Map View............................................................................................................	137
Monitoring cluster usage.......................................................................................................	137
Editing a cluster....................................................................................................................	137
Editing cluster properties...................................................................................................	137
Editing iSNS servers.........................................................................................................	137
Editing cluster VIP addresses..............................................................................................	138
Reconnecting volumes and applications after changing VIPs or iSNS servers............................	138
Maintaining storage systems in clusters....................................................................................	139
Adding a storage system to a cluster..................................................................................	139
Upgrading the storage systems in a cluster using cluster swap................................................	139
Reordering storage systems in a cluster...............................................................................	140
Exchange a storage system in a cluster...............................................................................	140
Removing a storage system from a cluster............................................................................	140
Troubleshooting a cluster.......................................................................................................	141
Auto Performance Protection..............................................................................................	141
Auto Performance Protection and the VSA.......................................................................	141
Auto Performance Protection and other clusters................................................................	141
Repairing a storage system................................................................................................	142
Deleting a cluster..................................................................................................................	143
11 Provisioning storage..............................................................................	144
Understanding how the capacity of the SAN is used.................................................................	144
Provisioning storage..............................................................................................................	144
Provisioning volumes.............................................................................................................	144
Full provisioning...............................................................................................................	145
Thin provisioning.............................................................................................................	145
Best practice for setting volume size...............................................................................	145
Planning data protection...................................................................................................	145
Former terminology in release 8.1 and earlier.................................................................	145
Data protection level....................................................................................................	146

8Contents

How data protection levels work...................................................................................	147
Network RAID-10 (2–Way Mirror).............................................................................	147
Network RAID-10+1 (3-Way Mirror)..........................................................................	147
Network RAID-10+2 (4-Way Mirror)..........................................................................	148
Network RAID-5 (Single Parity).................................................................................	148
Network RAID-6 (Dual Parity)...................................................................................	149
Provisioning snapshots...........................................................................................................	150
Snapshots versus backups.................................................................................................	150
The effect of snapshots on cluster space..............................................................................	150
Managing capacity using volume size and snapshots...........................................................	151
Volume size and snapshots...........................................................................................	151
Schedules to snapshot a volume and capacity.................................................................	151
Deleting snapshots......................................................................................................	151
Ongoing capacity management.............................................................................................	151
Number of volumes and snapshots.....................................................................................	151
Reviewing SAN capacity and usage...................................................................................	151
Cluster use summary....................................................................................................	152
Volume use summary...................................................................................................	153
System Use summary...................................................................................................	154
Measuring disk capacity and volume size...........................................................................	155
Block systems and file systems.......................................................................................	155
Storing file system data on a block system......................................................................	155
Changing the volume size on the server..............................................................................	156
Increasing the volume size in Microsoft Windows............................................................	156
Increasing the volume size in other environments.............................................................	156
Changing configuration characteristics to manage space......................................................	157
12 Using volumes......................................................................................	158
Volumes and server access....................................................................................................	158
Prerequisites....................................................................................................................	158
Planning volumes..................................................................................................................	158
Characteristics of volumes......................................................................................................	159
Creating a volume................................................................................................................	160
Viewing the volume map.......................................................................................................	161
Editing a volume..................................................................................................................	161
To edit a volume..............................................................................................................	162
Deleting a volume.................................................................................................................	163
To delete the volume........................................................................................................	164
13 Using snapshots....................................................................................	165
Types of snapshots................................................................................................................	165
Uses and best practices for snapshots.................................................................................	165
Planning snapshots...............................................................................................................	166
Prerequisites for application-managed snapshots..................................................................	167
Creating snapshots...............................................................................................................	168
Editing a snapshot...........................................................................................................	169
Scheduling snapshots............................................................................................................	169
Best practices for scheduling snapshots of volumes...............................................................	169
Requirements for snapshot schedules..................................................................................	170
Scheduling snapshots for volume sets..................................................................................	170
Creating a schedule to snapshot a volume..........................................................................	171
Editing scheduled snapshots.........................................................................................	172
Pausing and resuming scheduled snapshots....................................................................	172
Deleting schedules to snapshot a volume........................................................................	173
Scripting snapshots......................................................................................................	173
Mounting a snapshot............................................................................................................	173

Contents 9

Mounting the snapshot on a host.......................................................................................	173
Making a Windows application-managed snapshot available...............................................	174
Managing snapshot temporary space.................................................................................	176
Convert the temporary space to access data...................................................................	176
Delete the temporary space..........................................................................................	176
Rolling back a volume to a snapshot or clone point...................................................................	177
Rolling back a volume to a snapshot or clone point..............................................................	177
Continue with standard roll back...................................................................................	178
Create a new SmartClone volume from the snapshot........................................................	178
Roll back all associated volumes....................................................................................	179
Cancel the rollback operation.......................................................................................	180
Deleting a snapshot..............................................................................................................	180
Troubleshooting snapshots.....................................................................................................	181
14 SmartClone volumes..............................................................................	183
What are SmartClone volumes?.............................................................................................	183
Prerequisites....................................................................................................................	183
SmartClone volume terminology.........................................................................................	183
Example scenarios for using SmartClone volumes.................................................................	184
Deploy multiple virtual or boot-from-SAN servers.............................................................	184
Scenario: Computer training lab...............................................................................	184
Safely use production data for test, development, and data mining....................................	185
Test and development.............................................................................................	185
Data mining..........................................................................................................	185
Clone a volume..........................................................................................................	185
Planning SmartClone volumes................................................................................................	185
Space requirements..........................................................................................................	185
Naming convention for SmartClone volumes........................................................................	186
Naming and multiple identical disks in a server..............................................................	186
Server access..................................................................................................................	186
Defining SmartClone volume characteristics..............................................................................	186
Naming SmartClone volumes.................................................................................................	187
Shared versus individual characteristics...................................................................................	188
Clone point..........................................................................................................................	190
Shared snapshot ..................................................................................................................	192
Creating SmartClone volumes................................................................................................	193
To create a SmartClone volume..............................................................................................	193
Viewing SmartClone volumes.................................................................................................	195
Map view.......................................................................................................................	195
Using views................................................................................................................	196
Viewing clone points, volumes, and snapshots................................................................	197
Editing SmartClone volumes...................................................................................................	198
To edit the SmartClone volumes.........................................................................................	199
Deleting SmartClone volumes.................................................................................................	199
Deleting the clone point ...................................................................................................	199
Deleting multiple SmartClone volumes................................................................................	200
15 Working with scripting..........................................................................	201
16 Controlling server access to volumes........................................................	202
Planning server connections to management groups..................................................................	203
Using Controlling IP addresses...........................................................................................	203
Planning iSCSI server connections to management groups.....................................................	203
Adding an iSCSI server connection....................................................................................	204
Editing an iSCSI server connection.....................................................................................	205
Deleting an iSCSI server connection...................................................................................	205

10 Contents

Completing the iSCSI Initiator and disk setup...........................................................................	206
Persistent targets or favorite targets.....................................................................................	206
HP StoreVirtual DSM for Microsoft MPIO settings..................................................................	206
Disk management............................................................................................................	206
Planning Fibre Channel server connections to management groups.............................................	206
Adding a Fibre Channel server connection..........................................................................	206
Manually configuring a Fibre Channel initiator....................................................................	207
Deleting a manually configured Fibre Channel initiator....................................................	207
Editing a Fibre Channel server connection...........................................................................	207
Deleting a Fibre Channel server connection.........................................................................	208
Completing the Fibre Channel setup...................................................................................	208
Clustering server connections.................................................................................................	208
Requirements for clustering servers.....................................................................................	208
Creating a server cluster...................................................................................................	209
Viewing the relationship between storage systems, volumes, and servers.................................	210
Editing a server cluster......................................................................................................	210
Deleting a server cluster....................................................................................................	210
Assigning iSCSI server connections access to volumes...............................................................	211
Assigning server iSCSI connections from a volume................................................................	211
Assigning volumes from an iSCSI connection.......................................................................	211
Assigning volumes to Fibre Channel servers.............................................................................	212
Assigning Fibre Channel servers from a volume....................................................................	212
Assigning volumes from a Fibre Channel server...................................................................	212
Assigning a boot volume to a Fibre Channel server..............................................................	213
Editing server connection and volume assignments....................................................................	213
17 Monitoring performance .......................................................................	214
Prerequisites.........................................................................................................................	214
Introduction to using performance information..........................................................................	214
What can I learn about my SAN?......................................................................................	214
Current SAN activities example.....................................................................................	215
Workload characterization example..............................................................................	215
Fault isolation example.....................................................................................................	215
What can I learn about my volumes?......................................................................................	216
Most active volumes examples...........................................................................................	216
Activity generated by a specific server example...................................................................	217
Planning for SAN improvements.............................................................................................	217
Network utilization to determine if NIC bonding could improve performance example..............	217
Load comparison of two clusters example............................................................................	218
Load comparison of two volumes example...........................................................................	218
Accessing and understanding the Performance Monitor window.................................................	219
Performance Monitor toolbar.............................................................................................	220
Performance monitor graph...............................................................................................	220
Performance monitor table................................................................................................	221
Understanding the performance statistics.............................................................................	222
Monitoring and comparing multiple clusters.............................................................................	224
Performance monitoring and analysis concepts.........................................................................	224
Changing the sample interval and time zone............................................................................	225
Adding statistics...................................................................................................................	225
Viewing statistic details.....................................................................................................	226
Removing and clearing statistics.............................................................................................	227
Removing a statistic..........................................................................................................	227
Clearing the sample data..................................................................................................	227
Clearing the display.........................................................................................................	227
Resetting defaults.............................................................................................................	227

Contents 11

Pausing and restarting monitoring...........................................................................................	227
Changing the graph.............................................................................................................	228
Hiding and showing the graph..........................................................................................	228
Displaying or hiding a line................................................................................................	228
Changing the color or style of a line..................................................................................	228
Highlighting a line...........................................................................................................	228
Changing the scaling factor..............................................................................................	229
Exporting data.....................................................................................................................	229
Exporting statistics to a CSV file.........................................................................................	229
Saving the graph to an image file......................................................................................	230
18 Registering advanced features................................................................	231
Evaluation period for using advanced features..........................................................................	231
Starting the evaluation period............................................................................................	231
Backing out of Remote Copy evaluation..............................................................................	232
Scripting evaluation..............................................................................................................	232
Turn on scripting evaluation...............................................................................................	232
Turn off scripting evaluation...............................................................................................	233
Registering advanced features................................................................................................	233
Using license keys............................................................................................................	233
Registering available storage systems for license keys...........................................................	233
Registering storage systems in a management group.............................................................	234
Saving and editing your customer information..........................................................................	236
19 HP StoreVirtual Storage using iSCSI and Fibre Channel..............................	238
iSCSI and HP StoreVirtual Storage..........................................................................................	238
Number of iSCSI sessions.................................................................................................	238
VIPs...............................................................................................................................	238
iSNS server.....................................................................................................................	238
iSCSI load balancing.......................................................................................................	238
Authentication (CHAP)......................................................................................................	239
iSCSI and CHAP terminology............................................................................................	240
Example iSCSI configurations........................................................................................	240
Use the HP StoreVirtual DSM for Microsoft MPIO..................................................................	242
Fibre Channel and HP StoreVirtual Storage..............................................................................	242
Creating Fibre Channel connectivity...................................................................................	243
Zoning.......................................................................................................................	243
Using MPIO with Fibre Channel.........................................................................................	243
Adding the MPIO Device Hardware ID..........................................................................	243
20 Using the Configuration Interface............................................................	244
Connecting to the Configuration Interface................................................................................	244
Establishing a terminal emulation session on a Windows system.............................................	244
Establishing a terminal emulation session on a Linux/UNIX system..........................................	244
Opening the Configuration Interface from the terminal emulation session.................................	245
Logging in to the Configuration Interface.................................................................................	245
Configuring administrative users.............................................................................................	245
Configuring a network connection..........................................................................................	245
Deleting a NIC bond............................................................................................................	246
Setting the TCP speed, duplex, and frame size..........................................................................	246
Removing a storage system from a management group..............................................................	247
Resetting the storage system to factory defaults.........................................................................	247
21 Replacing hardware..............................................................................	248
Replacing disks and rebuilding data.......................................................................................	248
Replacing disks...............................................................................................................	248
Verify the storage system is not running a manager..........................................................	249

12 Contents

Repair the storage system.............................................................................................	249
Rebuilding data...............................................................................................................	250
Reconfigure RAID........................................................................................................	251
Returning the storage system to the cluster...........................................................................	251
Restarting a manager..................................................................................................	251
Adding the repaired storage system to cluster.................................................................	252
Rebuilding volume data....................................................................................................	252
Controlling server access..............................................................................................	253
Removing the ghost storage system.....................................................................................	253
Returning the failed disk...............................................................................................	253
Replacing the RAID controller.................................................................................................	253
Verifying component failure...............................................................................................	254
Removing the RAID controller............................................................................................	255
Installing the RAID controller..............................................................................................	258
Verifying proper operation................................................................................................	259
22 LeftHand OS TCP and UDP port usage....................................................	260
23 Third-party licenses...............................................................................	263
24 Support and other resources..................................................................	264
Contacting HP......................................................................................................................	264
Subscription service..........................................................................................................	264
Rack stability........................................................................................................................	264
Customer self repair..............................................................................................................	264
HP Insight Remote Support Software........................................................................................	264
Related information...............................................................................................................	265
HP websites....................................................................................................................	265
25 Documentation feedback.......................................................................	266
Glossary..................................................................................................	267
Index.......................................................................................................	273

Contents 13

1 Getting started

HP StoreVirtual Storage enables you to create a virtualized pool of storage resources and manage a SAN. The LeftHand OS software is installed on the HP StoreVirtual Storage and you use the HP StoreVirtual Centralized Management Console (CMC) to manage the storage. For a list of supported software and hardware, see the HP StoreVirtual 4000 Storage Compatibility Matrix at

http://www.hp.com/go/StoreVirtualcompatibility

Creating storage with HP StoreVirtual Storage

HP StoreVirtual Storage supports both iSCSI and Fibre Channel storage networks. Using the wizard on the Getting Started Launch Pad, work through these steps to create a management group, cluster and volume.

The following sections provide an overview of the steps required to set up and configure your storage.

Creating iSCSI storage

1.Install storage systems on network, assign IPs and change the hostname using the Configuration Interface. (See “Using the Configuration Interface” (page 244).)

Install an iSCSI Initiator on the application server.

2.Create a new management group or add storage systems to existing management group. (See “Creating a storage volume using the Management Groups, Clusters, and Volumes wizard” (page 15).)

3.Create an iSCSI server in CMC. (See “Enabling server access to volumes” (page 16))

4.Assign volumes to the iSCSI server. (See “Planning server connections to management groups” (page 203).)

5.Discover targets in the iSCSI Initiator.

6.Finish creating storage as necessary, for example, initialize and partition disks in Microsoft Windows.

Creating Fibre Channel storage

1.Install FC-enabled storage systems on network and fibre channel fabric, assign IPs and change the hostname using the Configuration Interface. (See “Using the Configuration Interface” (page 244).)

IMPORTANT: Do not zone storage systems until they have been put into a management group.

2.Ensure your initiator HBA driver is loaded and logged in to the Fibre Channel switches.

3.Ensure that appropriate MPIO support is loaded. For example, Microsoft Windows 2008 R2 or Windows 2012 uses the MS MPIO feature, configured for LEFTHANDP4000 disk

4.Configure storage systems by configuring 10 GbE NICs and appropriate bonding and SNMP. Change RAID if desired.

5.Create a new management group with two or more FC–enabled storage systems. (See “Creating a storage volume using the Management Groups, Clusters, and Volumes wizard” (page 15).)

NOTE: Adding two or more FC–enabled storage systems to an existing management group creates FC connectivity.

6.Optional: Configure zoning on the fibre channel switches. Zone the switch connections using either the port numbers or the WWNNs of the storage systems. Port-based zoning is

14 Getting started

recommended as the WWNNs based on the management group may change. (See the HP SAN Design Reference Guide.)

7.Create a Fibre Channel server in the CMC. (See “Planning Fibre Channel server connections to management groups” (page 206).)

8.Assign LUNs to the Fibre Channel server. (See “Assigning volumes to Fibre Channel servers” (page 212).)

9.Discover the LUNs in the OS.

Configuring storage systems

All systems, including Failover Managers, that have not been added to a management group appear in the list of Available Systems in the navigation window. If you plan to use multiple storage systems, they must all be configured before you use them for clustered storage.

The most important categories to configure are:

•RAID—The storage system is shipped with RAID already configured and operational. Find instructions for changing RAID, and for ensuring that drives in the storage system are properly configured and operating in “Configuring RAID and Managing Disks” (page 28).

•Network—Bond the NIC interfaces and set the frame size, NIC flow control, and speed and duplex settings. Read detailed network configuration instructions in “Managing the network” (page 49).

IMPORTANT: The network settings must be the same for the switches, clients, and storage systems. Set up the end-to-end network before creating storage volumes.

1.From the navigation window, select a storage system in the Available Systems pool.

2.Open the tree underneath the storage system.

3.In the list of configuration categories, select the Storage category.

4.Select the RAID Setup tab and verify the RAID settings or change the RAID level.

5.In the list of configuration categories, select the Network category and configure the network settings.

Creating a storage volume using the Management Groups, Clusters, and Volumes wizard

Select Getting Started in the navigation window to access the Getting Started Launch Pad. Select

Management Groups, Clusters, and Volumes Wizard to create storage volumes.

The wizard takes you through creating the tasks of creating a management group, a cluster, and a storage volume. This storage hierarchy is depicted in Figure 1 (page 16).

Configuring storage systems

15

Figure 1 The LeftHand OS software storage hierarchy

1.Management group

2.Cluster

3.Volume

To complete this wizard, you will need the following information:

•A name for the management group.

•A storage system discovered on the network and then configured for RAID and the Network settings

•DNS domain name, suffix, and server IP address for email event notification

•IP address or hostname and port of your email (SMTP) server for event notification

•A name for the cluster

•Virtual IP address to use for the cluster

•A name for the volume

•The size of the volume

NOTE: Names of management groups, clusters, volumes, and snapshots cannot be changed in the future without deleting the management group.

Enabling server access to volumes

Create a server or server cluster to connect application servers to volumes. To create a server or server cluster, you must first have created a management group, a cluster, and at least one volume. You should also plan the following:

•The application servers that need access to volumes.

•The iSCSI initiator you plan to use. You need the server’s initiator name, and CHAP information if you plan to use CHAP.

•For Fibre Channel access, have two Fibre Channel-enabled storage systems in the management group.

See “Controlling server access to volumes” (page 202) for more information.

16 Getting started

Using the Map View

The Map View tab is available for viewing the relationships between management groups, servers, sites, clusters, volumes and snapshots. When you log in to a management group, there is a Map View tab for each of those elements in the management group. For example, when you want to make changes such as moving a volume to a different cluster, or deleting shared snapshots, the Map View allows you to easily identify how many snapshots and volumes are affected by such changes.

The Map View pane contains display tools to control and manipulate the view. The display tools are available from the Map View Tasks menu or from the tool bar across the top of the pane. The tools function the same from either the tool bar or the Map View tasks menu.

Using the display tools

Use these tools, described in Table 1 (page 17), to select specific areas of the map to view, zoom in on, rotate, and move around the window. If you have a complex configuration, use the Map View tools to easily view and monitor the configuration.

Table 1 Map View display tools

Tool Icon	Function
	Zoom In—incrementally magnifies the Map View window.
	Zoom Out—incrementally reduces the Map View window.
	Magnify—creates magnification area, like a magnifying
	glass, that you can move over sections of the map view.
	Note that the magnify tool toggles on and off. You must
	click the icon to use it, and you must click the icon to turn
	it off.
	Zoom to Fit—returns the map view to its default size and
	view.
	Select to Zoom—allows you to select an area of the map
	view and zoom in on just that area.
	Rotate—turns the map view 90 degrees at a time.
Click and drag	You can left-click in the Map View window and drag the
	map around the window
Using views and layouts

The views and layouts differ for each element of your network that uses the map view. For views and layouts available, see:

•Working with management groups, “Management group map view tab” (page 110)

•Controlling server access to volumes, “Viewing the relationship between storage systems, volumes, and servers” (page 210)

•Sites, HP StoreVirtual Storage Multi-Site Configuration Guide

•Clusters, “Cluster Map View” (page 137)

•Volumes and Snapshots, “Viewing the volume map” (page 161)

•SmartClone volumes, “Using views” (page 196)

Using the Map View 17

Setting preferences

Use the Preferences window to set the following:

•Font size in the CMC

•Locale for the CMC. The locale determines the language displayed in the CMC.

•Naming conventions for storage elements

•Online upgrade options.

Setting the font size and locale

Use the Preferences window, opened from the Help menu, to set font size and locale in the CMC. Font sizes from 9 through 16 are available.

The CMC obtains the locale setting from your computer. If you change the locale on your computer and open the CMC, it uses the new locale, if available in the CMC.

You can override the locale setting from your computer by selecting a different locale in the CMC. Changing the locale in the CMC affects the language of the text that appears in the CMC and in the online help.

After changing the locale, you must close and reopen the CMC to see the change.

Setting naming conventions

Use the Preferences window, opened from the Help menu, to set naming conventions for elements you create when building the HP StoreVirtual Storage. You can use the default values or create your own set of customized values.

When you install the CMC for the first time, or upgrade from release 7.0.x, default names are enabled for snapshots, including schedules to snapshot a volume, and for SmartClone volumes. No default names are provided for management groups, clusters, and volumes.

Figure 2 Default naming conventions for snapshots and SmartClone volumes

Changing naming conventions

Change the elements that use a default naming convention or change the naming convention itself.

18 Getting started

If you use the given defaults, the resulting names look like those in Table 2 (page 19). Notice that the volume name carries into all the snapshot elements, including SmartClone volumes, which are created from a snapshot.

Table 2 Example of how default names work

Element	Default name	Example
SmartClone Volumes	VOL_	VOL_VOL_ExchLogs_SS_3_1
Snapshots	_SS_	VOL_ExchLogs_SS_1
Remote Snapshots	_RS_	VOL_RemoteBackup_RS_1
Schedules to Snapshot a Volume	_Sch_SS_	VOL_ExchLogs_Sch_SS_2.1
Schedules to Remote Snapshot a	_Sch_RS_	VOL_ExchLogs_Sch_RS_2_Pri.1,
Volume		VOL_RemoteBackup_Sch_RS_1_Rmt.1

If you delete all the default names from the Preferences Naming window, the only automatically generated naming elements that remain will incrementally number a series of snapshots or SmartClone volumes.

Troubleshooting

Storage systems not found

If the network has a lot of traffic, or if a storage system is busy reading or writing data, it may not be found when a search is performed. Try the following steps to find the storage system.

1.If the storage system you are looking for does not appear in the navigation window, search again using the Find menu.

2.If you have searched using Auto Discover by Broadcast, try adding individual IP addresses and clicking Find.

3.If you have searched by individual IP addresses, try searching by Auto Discover by Broadcast instead.

4.If searching again does not work, try the following:

•Check the physical connection of the storage system.

•Wait a few minutes and try the search again. If activity to the storage system was frequent, the storage system might not have responded to the search.

Other problems can prevent the CMC from finding a storage system:

•Extremely high network traffic to and from the storage system.

•The IP address could have changed if the storage system is configured to use DHCP (not recommended).

•The storage system may have been rebooted and is not yet online.

•Power could have failed to a network switch to which the storage system is connected.

•The CMC might be running on a system that is on a different physical network than the storage system. Poor network routing performance at the site may severely affect performance of the CMC.

Configuring remote support for HP StoreVirtual Storage

If you are using HP remote support, Table 3 (page 20) lists the required configuration tasks.

Troubleshooting 19

Table 3 CMC setup for remote support

Task

Enable SNMP on each storage system

Set the SNMP trap recipient to IP address of the system where the remote support client is installed

Open port 8959 (used for the CLI)

Set the management group login and password for a read-only (View_Only_Administrator group) user

For more information, see

“Enabling SNMP agents” (page 96)

“Adding SNMP traps” (page 97)

Your network administrator

“Adding an administrative user” (page 80)

20 Getting started

2 Working with storage systems

Storage systems displayed in the navigation window have a tree structure of configuration categories under them, as shown in Figure 3 (page 21). The configuration categories provide access to the configuration tasks for individual storage systems. You must configure some basic storage system parameters before using it in a cluster.

Figure 3 Storage system configuration categories

The configuration categories include the following:

•Diagnostics—Run hardware diagnostic tests, view current hardware status and configuration information, and save log files.

•Network—For each storage system, configure and manage the network settings, including network interface cards (NICs), the routing table, and which interface carries LeftHand OS communications.

•Storage—Manage disk RAID and the individual disks in the storage system.

Identifying the storage system hardware

Each HP StoreVirtual storage system is based on a specific HP platform. For general information about the underlying hardware of your HP StoreVirtual Storage model, such as LEDs, component identification, and replacing components, see the platform-specific documentation. Table 4 (page 21) identifies the HP platform used for each StoreVirtual model and a link to related information.

Table 4 HP platform identification

HP StoreVirtual model	HP platform	Documentation	Link
NSM 2120	ProLiant	HP ProLiant DL320s User	http://www.hp.com/support/DL320s_UG_en
	DL320s	Guide
HP LeftHand P4300	ProLiant	HP ProLiant DL185	http://www.hp.com/support/
HP LeftHand P4500	DL185 G5	Generation 5 Maintenance	DL185Gen5_MSG_en
		and Service Guide
HP P4300 G2	SE1220	HP SE1220 Maintenance and	Contact HP Support for more information as this
HP P4500 G2		Service Guide	guide is not publicly available.
P4900 G2
P4800 G2	ProLiant	HP P4800 G2 SAN Solution	http://www.hp.com/support/
	BL460c G7	for BladeSystem Maintenance	HP_P4800_G2_SAN_Solution_BladeSystem_MG_en
		Guide	http://www.hp.com/support/
		HP ProLiant BL460c G7	BL460cG7_Server_Blade_MSG_en
		Server Blade Maintenance
		and Service Guide

Identifying the storage system hardware

21

Table 4 HP platform identification (continued)

HP StoreVirtual model HP platform Documentation Link

HP StoreVirtual 4130	ProLiant
HP StoreVirtual 4330	DL360p
HP StoreVirtual 4330	Gen8
FC
HP StoreVirtual 4530	ProLiant
HP StoreVirtual 4730	DL380p
HP StoreVirtual 4730	Gen8
FC

HP ProLiant DL360p Gen8	http://www.hp.com/go/proliantgen8/docs
Server Maintenance and
Service Guide
HP ProLiant DL380p Gen8	http://www.hp.com/go/proliantgen8/docs
Server User Guide
HP ProLiant DL380p Gen8
Server Maintenance and
Service Guide

HP StoreVirtual 4630 ProLiant	HP ProLiant BL460c Gen8	http://www.hp.com/go/proliantgen8/docs
BL460c Gen8	Server Blade User Guide	http://www.hp.com/support/
	HP ProLiant BL460c Gen8	StoreVirtualManuals
	Server Blade Maintenance
	and Service Guide

Storage system tasks

Logging in to and out of storage systems

When storage systems are in the Available pool, you log in without a user name or password. Simply click the link Log in to view. When you use the Management Group, Clusters and Volumes wizard, selecting a storage system to use automatically logs in to that storage system. You can find the link to log in at the following locations:

•From the Available systems list in the Navigation window

•On individual storage system Details tabs

Logging out of a storage system

1.Select a storage system in the navigation window.

2.Right-click and select Log Out.

NOTE: If you are logged in to multiple storage systems, you must log out of each storage system individually.

Changing the storage system hostname

The storage system arrives configured with a default hostname. Change the hostname as follows:

1.On the Details tab, click Storage System Tasks and select Edit Hostname, or right-click on the storage system and select Edit Hostname.

2.Enter the new name in the Edit Hostname window, and click OK.

3.Click Yes to confirm.

NOTE: Add the hostname and IP pair to the hostname resolution methodology employed in your environment, for example, DNS or WINS.

Locating the storage system in a rack

The Set ID LED illuminates lights on the physical storage system to aid in physically locating that storage system in a rack. The Set ID LED is available depending on the model of the storage system.

22 Working with storage systems

1.Select a storage system in the navigation window and log in.

2.Click Storage System Tasks on the Details tab and select Set ID LED On.

The ID LED on the front of the storage system is now a bright blue. Another ID LED is located on the back of the storage system.

When you click Set ID LED On, the status changes to On.

3.Select Storage System Tasks→Set ID LED Off when you have finished. The LED on the storage system turns off.

Powering off or rebooting the storage system

You can reboot or power off the storage system from the CMC. Set the amount of time before the process begins, to ensure that all activity to the storage system has stopped.

Powering off the storage system through the CMC physically powers it off. The CMC controls the power down process so that data is protected.

Powering off an individual storage system is appropriate for servicing or moving that storage system. However, if you want to shut down more than one storage system in a management group, you should shut down the management group instead of individually powering off the storage systems in that group. See “Shutting down a management group” (page 118).

IMPORTANT:

•Before powering off or rebooting the storage system, ensure that volumes will not go offline by checking the storage system Availability tab. See “Determining volume and snapshot availability” (page 25).

•You should also verify that you have the proper number of managers and possibly a Failover Manager to ensure that quorum is maintained. See “Managers and quorum” (page 123).

Powering on or off, or rebooting storage systems with modular components

Some storage systems are comprised of modular components, that may include:

•Disk enclosure

•Server blades enclosure

•System controller

The P4800 and the 4630 are examples of storage systems that are comprised of modular components.

Power on the components in the following order:

1.Disk enclosure.

2.Server blades enclosure or system controller.

Allow up to 6 minutes for the system controller to come up completely and be discovered by the CMC. If the CMC cannot find the storage system after 6 minutes, contact Customer Support.

3.If you do not power on the disk enclosure first, the Storage System Details tab shows the status with No Formatted Devices Available.

Powering off or rebooting the storage system

23

Figure 4 Disk enclosure not found as shown in Details tab

When powering off the storage system, be sure to power off the components in the following order:

1.Power off the server blades enclosure or system controller from the CMC as described in “Powering off the storage system” (page 24).

2.Manually power off the disk enclosure.

When you reboot the storage system, use the CMC, as described in “Rebooting the storage system” (page 24). This process reboots only the server blades enclosure or the system controller.

Rebooting the storage system

1.Select a storage system in the navigation window and log in.

2.Click Storage System Tasks on the Details tab and select Power Off or Reboot.

3.In the minutes field, enter the number of minutes before the reboot should begin.

Enter any whole number greater than or equal to 0. If you enter 0, the storage system reboots shortly after you confirm the reboot.

NOTE: If you enter 0 for the value when rebooting, you cannot cancel the action. Any value greater than 0 allows you to cancel before the reboot actually takes place.

4.Select Reboot to perform a software reboot without a power cycle.

5.Click OK.

The storage system starts the reboot in the specified number of minutes. The reboot may take several minutes.

6.Search for the storage system to reconnect the CMC to the storage system once it has finished rebooting.

Powering off the storage system

1.Log in to the storage system.

2.Select Storage System Tasks on the Details tab and select Power Off or Reboot.

3.Select Power Off.

The button changes to Power Off.

4.In the minutes field, enter the number of minutes before the powering off should begin.

Enter any whole number greater than or equal to 0. If you enter 0, the storage system powers off shortly after you confirm the power off.

24 Working with storage systems

NOTE: If you enter 0 for the value when powering off, you cannot cancel the action. Any value greater than 0 allows you to cancel before the power off actually takes place.

5.Click Power Off.

Figure 5 Confirming storage system power off

Depending on the configuration of the management group and volumes, your volumes and snapshots can remain available.

Upgrading LeftHand OS on storage systems

The CMC enables online upgrades for storage systems, including the latest software releases and patches. See the HP StoreVirtual Storage Upgrade Guide.

Registering advanced features for a storage system

Using the Feature Registration tab, register individual storage systems for advanced features.

For more information about registering advanced features, see “Registering advanced features” (page 231).

Determining volume and snapshot availability

The Availability tab displays which volumes’ and snapshots’ availability depends on this storage system staying online. Details include the data protection level and what factors contribute to the availability status, such as the status of storage systems participating in any replication or a RAID restripe in progress. Quorum dependency is a critical indicator of volume availability and is reported here. For more information about quorum and managers, see “Managers and quorum” (page 123).

Upgrading LeftHand OS on storage systems 25

Figure 6 Availability tab

Checking status of dedicated boot devices

Some storage systems contain either one or two dedicated boot devices. In storage systems with two dedicated boot devices, both devices are active by default. If a storage system has dedicated boot devices, the Boot Devices tab appears in the Storage configuration category. Storage systems that do not have dedicated boot devices will not display the Boot Devices tab.

Checking boot device status

View dedicated boot device status in the Boot Devices tab window in the Storage category in the storage system tree. Boot device status and statistics are available in the hardware information, available from the Diagnostics category in the storage system tree.

Getting there

1.Select a storage system in the navigation window and log in if necessary.

2.Open the tree below the storage system and select Storage.

3.Select the Boot Devices tab.

The status of each dedicated boot device on the storage system is listed in the Status column. Table 5 (page 26) describes the possible status for boot devices.

NOTE: Some statuses only occur in a storage system with two boot devices.

Table 5 Boot device status

Boot device status	Description
Active	The device is synchronized and ready to be used.
Inactive	The device is ready to be removed from the storage system.
	It will not be used to boot the storage system.
Failed	The device encountered an I/O error and is not ready to
	be used.
Unformatted	The device has not yet been used in a storage system. It is
	ready to be activated.

26 Working with storage systems

Table 5 Boot device status (continued)

Boot device status	Description
Not Recognized	The device is not recognized as a boot device.
Unsupported	The device cannot be used. (For example, the compact
	flash card is the wrong size or type.)

:

When the status of a boot device changes, an event is generated. See “Alarms and events overview” (page 88).

Replacing a dedicated boot device

If a boot hard drive fails, you will see an event that the boot device is faulty. Replace it with a new drive, according to the hardware documentation that came with the storage system. The boot device drives support hot swapping and do not require activation. Refer to the hardware documentation for the storage system. See Table 4 (page 21) for links to the hardware documentation for HP StoreVirtual platforms.

Checking status of dedicated boot devices 27

3 Configuring RAID and Managing Disks

For each storage system, you can select the RAID configuration and the RAID rebuild options, and monitor the RAID status. You can also review disk information and, for some models, manage individual disks.

Getting there

1.In the navigation window, select a storage system and log in if necessary.

2.Open the tree under the storage system and select the Storage category.

Figure 7 Viewing the storage configuration category for a storage system

Columns in the RAID Setup tab show four categories:

•Device Name

•Device Type or the RAID level

•Device Status

•Subdevices

NOTE: For hardware-specific LED information for your storage system, see “Identifying the storage system hardware” (page 21) for document titles and document links.

Configuring and managing RAID

Managing the RAID settings of a storage system includes:

•Choosing the right RAID configuration for your storage needs

•Setting or changing the RAID configuration, if necessary

•Setting the rate for rebuilding RAID

•Monitoring the RAID status for the storage system

•Reconfiguring RAID when necessary

RAID Levels

The availability of certain RAID levels is determined by the number of storage system hard drives.

Table 6 Descriptions of RAID levels

RAID level	Description
RAID 10 – Mirroring and Striping	Offers the best combination of data protection and
	performance. RAID 1+0 or drive mirroring creates fault
	tolerance by storing duplicate sets of data on a minimum
	of four hard drives. There must be an even number of drives
	for RAID 1+0. RAID 1+0 is the most costly fault tolerance

28 Configuring RAID and Managing Disks

Table 6 Descriptions of RAID levels (continued)

RAID level	Description
	method because it requires 50 percent of the drive capacity
	to store the redundant data. RAID 1+0 first mirrors each
	drive in the array to another, and then stripes the data
	across the mirrored pair. If a physical drive fails, the mirror
	drive provides a backup copy of the files and normal
	system operations are not interrupted. RAID 1+0 can
	withstand multiple simultaneous drive failures, as long as
	the failed drives are not mirrored to each other.
RAID 5	Offers the best combination of data protection and usable
	capacity while also improving performance over RAID 6.
	RAID 5 stores parity data across all the physical drives in
	the array and allows more simultaneous read operations
	and higher performance. If a drive fails, the controller uses
	the parity data and the data on the remaining drives to
	reconstruct data from the failed drive. The system continues
	operating with a slightly reduced performance until you
	replace the failed drive. RAID 5 can only withstand the
	loss of one drive without total array failure. It requires an
	array with a minimum of three physical drives. Usable
	capacity is N-1 where N is the number of physical drives
	in the logical array.
RAID 6	Offers the best data protection and is an extension of RAID
	5. RAID 6 uses multiple parity sets to store data and can
	therefore tolerate up to 2 drive failures simultaneously.
	RAID 6 requires a minimum of 4 drives. Performance is
	lower than RAID 5 due to parity data updating on multiple
	drives. RAID 6 uses two disk for parity; its fault tolerance
	allows two disks to fail simultaneously. Usable capacity is
	N-2 where N is the number of physical drives in the logical
	array.

Explaining RAID devices in the RAID setup report

In the Storage category, the RAID Setup tab lists the RAID devices in the storage system and provides information about them. An example of the RAID setup report is shown in Figure 8 (page 29). Information listed in the report is described in Table 7 (page 30).

Figure 8 RAID setup report

RAID devices by RAID type

Each RAID type creates different sets of RAID devices. Table 7 (page 30) contains a description of the variety of RAID devices created by the different RAID types as implemented on various storage systems.

Explaining RAID devices in the RAID setup report 29

Table 7 Information in the RAID setup report

This item	Describes this
Device Name	The disk sets used in RAID. The number and names of
	devices varies by storage system and RAID level.
Device Type	The RAID level of the device. For example, in a HP P4300
	G2, RAID 5 displays a Device Type of RAID 5 and
	subdevices as 8.
	NOTE: On the 4730 and the 4630 with 25 drives, since
	the global hot spare is configured, each logical drive will
	show 13 subdevices (12 data drives plus 1 spare).
Device Status	The RAID status of the device.
	Status is one of the following:
	•	Normal—green
	•	Degraded—yellow
	•	Off—red
	•	Rebuilding—blue
Subdevices	The number of disks included in the device.

Virtual RAID devices

If you are using the VSA, the only RAID available is virtual RAID. After installing the VSA, virtual RAID is configured automatically if you first configured the data disk in the VI Client.

HP recommends installing VSA for vSphere on top of a server with a RAID 5 or RAID 6 configuration.

Planning the RAID configuration

Plan the RAID configuration for storage systems based on a balance between data high availability or fault tolerance, I/O performance, and usable capacity.

CAUTION: Plan your RAID configuration carefully. After you have configured RAID and created a management group, you cannot change the RAID configuration without deleting all data on the storage system.

Data protection

Keeping multiple copies of your data ensures that data is safe and remains available in the case of disk failure. HP recommends using both disk RAID and Network RAID to insure high availability:

•Configure RAID 1+0, RAID 5, or RAID 6 within each storage system to ensure data redundancy.

•Always use Network RAID to mirror data volumes across storage systems in a cluster, regardless of RAID level, for added data protection and high availability.

Using RAID for data redundancy

Within each storage system, RAID 1+0 ensures that two copies of all data exist. If one of the disks in a RAID pair goes down, data reads and writes continue on the other disk. Similarly, RAID 5 or RAID 6 provides redundancy by spreading parity evenly across the disks in the set.

If one disk in a RAID 5 set, or two disks in a RAID 6 set goes down, data reads and writes continue on the remaining disks in the set.

RAID protects against failure of disks within a storage system, but not against failure of an entire storage system. For example, if network connectivity to the storage system is lost, then data reads and writes to the storage system cannot continue.

30 Configuring RAID and Managing Disks