White Paper Abstract This white paper describes D910 VP technology, configuration using SE, and port settings. It also provides examples of FAST VP and VLUN migration. August 2013 IMPLEMENTING D910 DEVICES on EMC SYMMETRIX VMAX 40K, VMAX 20K/VMAX, and VMAX 10K (Systems with SN xxx987xxxx) STORAGE ARRAYS
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White Paper
Abstract
This white paper describes D910 VP technology, configuration using SE, and port settings. It also provides examples of FAST VP and VLUN migration.
August 2013
IMPLEMENTING D910 DEVICES on EMC SYMMETRIX VMAX 40K, VMAX 20K/VMAX, and VMAX 10K (Systems with SN xxx987xxxx) STORAGE ARRAYS
EMC believes the information in this publication is accurate as of its publication date. The information is subject to change without notice.
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All trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners.
Technology overview ............................................................................................................. 4 D910 ................................................................................................................................................ 4 Virtual Provisioning (VP) for IBM i ..................................................................................................... 4 FAST VP ............................................................................................................................................ 5 VLUN-V3 .......................................................................................................................................... 6
Configuring IBM i Features in VMAX ....................................................................................... 6 Setting the Fibre Channel Port .......................................................................................................... 6 Preparing the environment ............................................................................................................... 7 Creating devices .............................................................................................................................. 7
Initializing FAST VP .............................................................................................................. 10
Creating FAST Managed Objects .......................................................................................... 14
Creating Performance-based Data Movement with FAST VP .................................................. 19
Creating Compliance-based Data Movement with FAST VP .................................................... 23
Performing a Virtual Device VLUN Migration with Solutions Enabler ...................................... 29
Introduction EMC® has a strong role as a non-IBM storage provider for IBM i environments. EMC has licensed key IBM technologies and participates in IBM i early-availability testing programs. The two companies’ engineer teams collaborate to ensure the highest level of integration between the IBM i operating system and EMC Symmetrix®. EMC and IBM have a long-standing Cooperative Support Agreement (CSA) ensuring customer issues are resolved seamlessly and on a timely basis.
D910-099 Model Type is a new IBM i device co-developed by EMC and IBM to provide a standard 512 byte device format that can natively attached to the IBM i host. The D910 is similar to the existing 2107 device type which also enables the EMC Virtual Provisioning features. The new D910 emulation:
• Is 512 bytes per block • Builds on basic thin provisioning functionality • Allows a large volume to be presented to a host • Consumes physical storage from a shared pool only as needed • Can be managed and monitored with Unisphere for VMAX, Solutions Enabler
command line interface (SYMCLI), and SRDF®/TimeFinder® Manager (STM)
The purpose of this document is to describe D910 emulation and configuration in an IBM i environment.
This document focuses on the new D910 emulation VP technology, configuration using SE, and port settings. It provides examples of FAST™ VP and VLUN migration.
This document is intended for anyone responsible for configuring and installing D910 emulation for IBM i.
Technology overview Minimum host requirements for D910-099 support are:
• Power 6 and later server hardware • IBM i 6.1 (6.1.1 LIC) and later releases • Smart IOA Fibre Channel (IOPless) adapters only • Variable sized LUN capacity ranging from 3 GB to 2 TB • Minimum required IBM PTF levels are
– 6.1.1 requires a minimum CUM C2122610 (2122) MAY 14, 2012 (NPIV support excluded).
– 7.1 requires a minimum of TECH REFRESH 4 (TR4) or CUM C2115710 (2115) May 17, 2012.
• In a VIOS VFC configuration, the use of D910 with NPIV requires a minimum OS of 7.1.
In Virtual Provisioning™ thin devices present to the host disk configurations with inflated capacity. When more storage space is needed the thin device, which is bound to the physical devices in a thin pool, can provision more storage from the pool without disrupting the host application. Virtual Provisioning for IBM i can be managed through the SRDF/TimeFinder Manager commands and screens.
• Prior to EMC Enginuity™ 5876, only standard FBA devices were supported as VP.
• FAST VP support for IBM i is only supported with the D910 512-byte/block emulation.
• FAST VP for IBM i is supported through EMC Solution Enabler. Minimal native IBM i host component support is available.
• D910 will be treated as a standard FBA device. • No legacy device emulations will be supported. • Both IBM i and standard FBA devices are able to use a common disk format.
In most configurations for this host, a separate IBM i thin pool should be configured so as not to share the physical disk with Open host workloads. There are exceptions, such as very low I/O workloads.
FAST VP is an evolution of the existing EMC FAST (Fully Automated Storage Tiering) and EMC Optimizer technology. FAST allows for automated policy-driven storage tiering that performs dynamic nondisruptive movement of data to meet performance and capacity demands for applications. FAST VP can move data among three tiers Flash, Fibre Channel, or SATA drives depending on the demand for the data. FAST VP also allows for movement of data at the sub-LUN level. FAST VP is configured using IBM i Solutions Enabler CLI commands.
The administrator’s input criteria are assembled into a FAST Policy. The FAST VP system uses the Policy information to perform extent data movement operations within two or three disk tiers in the array. FAST VP supports Virtually Provisioned devices and the granularity of data movement is at the data extent level.
Common facets of FAST VP have been identified below:
• Data movement – Promotion – Demotion
• FAST VP decision engine – Capacity based decisions – Priority based decisions – Performance based decisions
Device configuration items listed below can be included in the EMC Symmetrix VMAX® configuration:
• Striped and concatenated meta volumes • Device types
– FBA Server TDAT – AS/400-D910-099 CDEV – Thin_BCV
Virtual LUN technology, a feature of Symmetrix Optimizer, enables users to transparently and nondisruptively relocate volumes to different physical drive tiers and RAID types without impacting local or remote replication.
The VLUN-V3 project involves moving allocated data on thin devices from one pool to another pool. The external interface is minimal and based on the existing symmigrate CLI command. The user may optionally query these requests, but no further actions are necessary. Upon accepting the request, Enginuity 5876 creates a background task re-binding thin devices to the new target pool and then migrating all allocated tracks not in the target pool to the target pool.
With the understanding that this infrastructure has been used by the FAST VP feature, this functionality takes into account many areas of FAST VP. Most notably, the move request is extent-based, not full device only.
Configuring IBM i Features in VMAX This section provides the following information:
• Setting the Fibre Channel Port • Preparing the environment • Creating devices
Port sharing
• Open systems data devices are only allowed to be mixed on the same port or on the same processor as IBM i D910 devices using ACLX.
• On a multi-port host adapter (IOA only), one port can address 2107 emulations and the other port can address D910 emulations.
Direct Connect (with no SAN)
In order to set up the FA port for use in an environment with no switch connectivity, the FA port settings should be configured with the following parameters:
Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL) bits to set: • Loop ID = Default (although 7D has traditionally been used) • Common SN = Yes • Unique Worldwide = Yes (UWN) • ACLX or VCM • This setting is optional and is used as a best practice in managing new LUNs or
when the same initiator (IOA) and LPAR is used for addressing different images in various scenarios (such as TimeFinder volumes for daily use or a DR image for disaster recovery).
In order to set up the FA port for use in an environment with switch connectivity, the FA port settings should be configured with the following parameters.
Point-to-Point (FC-SW) bits to set: • Loop ID = Default • Unique Worldwide = Yes (UWN) • Point To Point = Yes (PP) • ACLX or VCM
This setting is optional and is used as a best practice in managing new LUNs or when the same initiator (IOA) and LPAR is used for addressing different images in various scenarios (such as TimeFinder volumes for daily use or a DR image for disaster recovery).
• Enable Auto Negotiation = Yes (EAN)
Device sizing and capacity planning should be determined before proceeding with the creation steps. Load Source device should be about 70GB unless you plan to migrate from something larger.
Matching up source and replications targets is required and it all starts from knowing what source device count/capacities are needed.
Take note of the device ranges you create. They will be referenced as you proceed.
NOTE: Device count and size values used in this white paper are for example purposes only.
The following is an example of the process and Solutions Enabler commands used to create a set of devices for use on an IBM i system.
1. Create standard thin devices with D910 emulation.
2. Create pool devices of various protections to use later in the examples.
Considerations need to be made when choosing COUNT and SIZE so that the replication pools match with the source pool and their corresponding THIN devices (created in Step 1).
Symconfigure -sid xx -cmd "create dev count=15, config=2-Way-Mir, attribute=datadev, emulation=FBA, size=90000, disk_group=x;" commit –nop
NOTE: This device creation would be used for a two- way mirrored configuration. See the following examples of RAID 5 and RAID 6 configurations.
Symconfigure -sid xx -cmd "create dev count=15, config=RAID-5, data_member_count=3, attribute=datadev, emulation=FBA, size=90000, disk_group=x;" commit –nop
Initializing FAST VP The following FAST control mechanisms will used in this section:
• Create Tiers, Storage Groups and Policies • Associate Policies with Tiers • Analysis period • Initial period
The FAST VP environment includes enabling the FAST VP controller on the Symmetrix as well as configuring Performance Collection and Data Movement Time Windows. The following example progresses through the following Fully Automated Storage Tiering (FAST) steps:
1. Verify the FAST controller state. 2. Verify the Performance Collection and Data Movement Time windows. 3. Create an Inclusive Time window. 4. Verify the new Inclusive Time window. 5. Verify the FAST Controller settings. 6. Set the FAST VP Data Movement mode. 7. Set the FAST Controller Initial Analysis Period. 8. Set the FAST Controller Workload Analysis Period. 9. Set the Thin Data Relocation rate. 10. Set the Thin Pool Reserve capacity. 11. Verify the new FAST Controller settings.
The following provides each of these steps in more detail.
1. Verify the FAST controller state. There are three possible operating states for the FAST Controller: Enabled, Disabled, or Degraded.
• Enabled means the FAST Controller can and will perform device movements based on user defined policies.
• Disabled means the FAST Controller will not perform device movements. However, performance data will continue to be collected, during defined performance windows, for possible future analysis.
• Degraded means the FAST controller can perform some or all of its functions. However, it cannot perform each function fully. A reason code will be displayed in the case the state is degraded.
To view the current operating state, issue the following command:
symfast –sid xxx list –state -vp
Symmetrix ID: 000192601849 FAST State : Disabled Error Message : N/A Degraded Reason : N/A Current Activities : Idle
If the state is Enabled, use the symfast command to Disable:
symfast –sid xxx disable -vp
2. Verify the existing Performance Collection and Data Movement Time Windows.
Issue the symtw command to display existing time windows.
Symtw list -sid xxx Symmetrix ID: 000195601849
DP Data Movement Time Windows Sunday : None Monday : None Tuesday : None Wednesday : None Thursday : None Friday : None Saturday : None Exclusive Time Windows (0)
VP Data Movement Time Windows Sunday : 00:00 - 24:00 Monday : 00:00 - 24:00 Tuesday : 00:00 - 24:00 Wednesday : 00:00 - 24:00 Thursday : 00:00 - 24:00 Friday : 00:00 - 24:00 Saturday : 00:00 - 24:00 Exclusive Time Windows (0)
The default performance time window collects device statistics 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Meanwhile, the default swap time windows exclude swaps 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Workload Analysis Period • Thin Data Relocation Rate • Thin Pool Reserved Capacity
To verify the existing FAST Controller Settings, run:
Symfast -sid xxx list –control_parms
Symmetrix ID: 000195600105 Optimizer and FAST Control Parameters: Data Movement Mode : User_Approve Max Simultaneous Device Moves : 8 Max Device Moves Per Day : 200 Optimizer, FAST and FAST VP Control Parameters: Min Initial Workload Period(hrs) : 2 Workload Analysis Period(hrs) : 2 FAST Control Parameters: Swap Not Visible Devices : Disabled Allow Only Swap : Disabled FAST VP Control Parameters: FAST VP Data Movement Mode : AUTO FAST VP Data Relocation Rate : 3 Thin Pool Reserved Capacity(%) : 10
VP Allocation By FAST policy : Disabled
5. Set the FAST VP Data Movement mode.
The FAST VP data movement mode determines whether data movements will be performed during data movement windows. The value can be set to automatic (AUTO) or off (NONE).
In Automatic mode, FAST will execute recommended extent movement automatically during defined data movement windows. When the mode is set to NONE, no data movements will be performed by FAST VP. The default value is off (NONE).
• To set the mode to Automatic, run:
Symfast -sid xxx set -control_parms -thin_data_move_mode AUTO
Execute SET CONTROL PARAMETERS operation for FAST (y/[n]) ? y
The FAST SET CONTROL PARAMETERS operation finished successfully
• To set the mode to OFF, run:
Symfast -sid xxx set -control_parms -thin_data_move_mode NONE
Execute SET CONTROL PARAMETERS operation for FAST (y/[n]) ? y
The FAST SET CONTROL PARAMETERS operation finished successfully
6. Set the FAST Controller Initial Analysis period.
The Initial Analysis period (min_perf_period) determines how many data samples are initially required before FAST VP will make any performance based data movements. This value can be set between 2 hours and 4 weeks. The value is specified in hours. The default value is 8 hours.
Symfast -sid xxx set -control_parms -min_perf_period 2
Execute SET CONTROL PARAMETERS operation for FAST (y/[n]) ? y
The FAST SET CONTROL PARAMETERS operation finished successfully
7. Set the FAST Controller Workload Analysis period.
The Workload Analysis period (workload_period) specifies the amount of workload sampling that FAST VP will maintain for performance analysis. This value can be set between 2 hours and 4 weeks. The value is specified in hours. The default value is 1 week (168 hours).
To set the Workload Analysis period for FAST, run:
Symfast -sid xxx set -control_parms -workload_period 2
Execute SET CONTROL PARAMETERS operation for FAST (y/[n]) ? y
The FAST SET CONTROL PARAMETERS operation finished successfully
8. Set the Thin Data Relocation rate.
The Thin Data Relocation Rate controls the aggressiveness of data movement requests made by the FAST VP controller to Enginuity. This value can be set between 1 and 10, with 1 being the most aggressive (largest request size). The default value is 5.
To set the Thin Data Relocation rate, run:
Symfast -sid xxx set -control_parms -thin_reloc_rate 3
Execute SET CONTROL PARAMETERS operation for FAST (y/[n]) ? y
The FAST SET CONTROL PARAMETERS operation finished successfully
9. Set the Thin Pool Reserve capacity.
The Thin Pool Reserve capacity sets aside a percentage of each thin pool in the array that will not be utilized for FAST VP data movements. Once the percentage of unallocated space in a pool is equal to the PRC, FAST VP will no longer perform data movements into that pool. This value can be set between 1 and 80 (percent.) The default value is 10 (percent.)
Symfast -sid xxx set -control_parms -pool_resv_cap 10
Execute SET CONTROL PARAMETERS operation for FAST (y/[n]) ? y
The FAST SET CONTROL PARAMETERS operation finished successfully
10. Verify FAST Controller settings.
Verify that the settings modified in steps 6 through 10 were successful.
Symmetrix ID: 000195600105 Optimizer and FAST Control Parameters: Data Movement Mode : User_Approve Max Simultaneous Device Moves : 8 Max Device Moves Per Day : 200 Optimizer, FAST and FAST VP Control Parameters: Min Initial Workload Period(hrs) : 2 Workload Analysis Period(hrs) : 2 FAST Control Parameters: Swap Not Visible Devices : Disabled Allow Only Swap : Disabled FAST VP Control Parameters: FAST VP Data Movement Mode : AUTO FAST VP Data Relocation Rate : 3 Thin Pool Reserved Capacity(%) : 10 VP Allocation By FAST policy : Disabled
Creating FAST Managed Objects There are three primary objects managed by FAST VP:
• Storage Groups Storage Groups are a logical collection of Symmetrix volumes that are to be managed together.
• Symmetrix Tiers Symmetrix Tiers contain between 1 and 4 thin pools – each thin pool included in a single tier must contain data devices (TDATs) of the same RAID protection type and drive technology: EFD (Flash), Fibre Channel (FC), or SATA.
• FAST Policies FAST Policies contain a set of tier usage rules that can be applied on one or more Storage Groups.
In this example, each of the components will be created and associated with other elements. This set of examples progresses through the following steps:
1. Create a Storage Group. 2. List the available Thin Pools on the Symmetrix VMAX 3. Create Thin Symmetrix tiers. 4. Create a FAST Policy. 5. Associate the Storage Group to the FAST Policy. 6. Verify if the Storage Group is in compliance with the FAST policy.
The following provides each of these steps in more detail.
1. Create a Storage Group.
To create an empty storage group with the name Thin_ProdApp1, run:
To verify the creation of the group, and the addition of the devices, run:
Symsg –sid xxx show Thin_ProdApp1 Name: Thin_ProdApp1 Symmetrix ID : 000192601849 Last updated at : Mon Aug 09 14:36:31 2010 Masking Views : No FAST Policy : No Devices (25): { --------------------------------------------------------- Sym Device Cap Dev Pdev Name Config Sts (MB) --------------------------------------------------------- 090D N/A TDEV RW 17263 090E N/A TDEV RW 17263 0911 N/A TDEV RW 17263 0912 N/A TDEV RW 17263 0913 N/A TDEV RW 17263 0914 N/A TDEV RW 17263 }
2. List the available Thin Storage Pools on the Symmetrix VMAX.
To display summary information on each thin pool, run:
Symcfg-sid xxx list -pool -thin –detail (example display) Symmetrix ID : 000195600105 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- L I Logical Capacities (GB) O Target n -------------------------- Tier Name C Tech Protection Emul c Enabled Free Used --------------------- - ---- ------------ ---- - -------- -------- -------- FIBRE I FC RAID-1 FBA S 412 410 2 FLASH I EFD RAID-5(3+1) FBA S 412 338 74 SATA I SATA RAID-6(6+2) FBA S 412 410 2 Legend: Disk (Loc)ation : I = Internal, X = External Inc Type : S = Static, D = Dynamic
3. Create thin Symmetrix tiers.
• To create a thin Symmetrix tier on EFD, with protection type RAID 5 (3+1), run:
• To create a thin Symmetrix tier on SATA, with protection type RAID 6 (14+2), run:
Symtier -sid xxx create –name SATA –tgt_raid6 –tgt_prot 6+2 –tech SATA –thin –pool SATA_R614_VP
• Verify the creation of the thin tiers by running:
Symtier –sid xxx list –thin
Symmetrix ID : 000192601849 -------------------------------------------------------------------- I Logical Capacities (GB) Target n -------------------------- Tier Name Tech Protection c Enabled Free Used --------------------- ---- ------------ - -------- -------- -------- FIBRE FC RAID-1 S 8496 8472 24 FLASH EFD RAID-5(3+1) S 405 405 0 SATA SATA RAID-6(14+2) S 8091 8079 12 Legend: Inc Type : S = Static, D = Dynamic
4. Create a FAST Policy.
A FAST VP policy is a group of 2 to 3 tiers and an assigned percentage of how much each associated storage group can use from each of those tiers. When creating a policy, the total percent usage for all tiers combined must be at least 100%. FAST policies may only contain tiers of one type – standard or thin.
• To create an empty policy called Platinum, run:
Symfast –sid xxx –fp create –name Platinum
• To add the three previously created thin tiers with the policy, run the following commands:
• Verify the tiers were added correctly by running:
Symfast –sid xxx show –fp_name Platinum
Symmetrix ID : 000195600105 Policy Name : Platinum Emulation : FBA Tiers(3) { -------------------------------------------------------------------- L Max SG O Target Tier Name Type Percent C Tech Protection ------------------- ---- -------- - ----- ------------- FLASH VP 100 I EFD RAID-5(3+1) FIBRE VP 100 I FC RAID-1 SATA VP 100 I SATA RAID-6(6+2) } No Storage Groups associated with Policy Platinum
5. Associate the Storage Group to the FAST VP Policy.
Associating a storage group to a FAST VP Policy applies the storage tiers’ usage limits in that policy to the storage group. Multiple storage groups may be associated with the same policy. As such, a priority is given to each storage group when it is associated with the policy. The priority can be set to 1, 2, or 3, with 1 being the highest priority.
0918 N D910 276210 FC_R1_VP 7692 0919 N D910 276210 FC_R1_VP 7728 091A N D910 276210 FC_R1_VP 7716 091B N D910 276210 FC_R1_VP 7716 091C N D910 276210 FC_R1_VP 7788 091D N D910 276210 FC_R1_VP 7740 091E N D910 276210 FC_R1_VP 7644 091F N D910 276210 FC_R1_VP 7752 0920 N D910 276210 FC_R1_VP 7668 0921 N D910 276210 FC_R1_VP 7668 0922 N D910 276210 FC_R1_VP 7728 0923 N D910 276210 FC_R1_VP 7728 0924 N D910 276210 FC_R1_VP 7680 0925 N D910 276210 FC_R1_VP 7668 Total ---------- --------- Tracks 6905250 192648 GBs 421 12 } Policy Name : Platinum Priority : 2 RDF :DISABLED VP Compression :DISABLED
Tiers(3) { ------------------------------------------------------------------ Max SG Target Tier Name Type Percent Tech Protection ------------------------------------------------------------------- FLASH THIN 100 EFD RAID-5(3+1) FIBRE THIN 100 FC RAID-1 SATA THIN 100 SATA RAID-6(14+2) } Legend: Flags: (P)inned : Y = Device is Pinned, N = Device is not Pinned
6. Verify that the Storage Group is in compliance with the FAST VP policy.
A storage group is considered to be compliant with the FAST policy when all the devices within the storage group exist only in the tiers defined in the policy, and within the upper limits specified for each tier. The symfast command provides options to show the current capacity “demand” for each storage group to policy association. In the case of a thin policy, containing thin tiers, the capacities displayed relate to allocated capacity within the storage group, and not necessarily the total capacity of the thin devices in the storage group.
To see the current capacity demand for a storage group, run:
Symfast -sid xxx list -association –demand -sg Thin_ProdApp1 Symmetrix Id : 000192601849 Policy Name : Platinum Storage Group : Thin_ProdApp1 Priority : 2
Tiers (3) { ------------------------------------------------------------------- Logical Capacities (GB) ------------------------------- Target Max SG Max SG FAST SG Name Type Prot Percent Demand Usage Growth ------------- ---- -------- ------- ---------- --------- ---------- FLASH THIN R5(3+1) 100 12 0 +12 FIBRE THIN R1 100 12 12 +0 SATA THIN R6(14+2) 100 12 0 +12 Total ---------- ----------- 36 12 }
The Max SG Demand column displays the capacity allowed for each tier in the associated policy.
The FAST SG Usage column displays the current capacity consumed by the storage group in each tier.
The Growth column indicates how much additional capacity in the tier can be consumed by the storage group. A negative value indicates that the storage group is currently consuming above its policy allocation in the tier, and as such is out of compliance with the policy.
Creating Performance-based Data Movement with FAST VP One of the algorithms used for generating a FAST data movement is a performance based algorithm. The goal of the performance-based algorithm is to relocate busier data to higher performing tiers, and less active (or idle) data to more cost-effective tiers. Performance data movements will also be made within the constraints of the tier usage limits within the storage group’s associated FAST policy.
This procedure is based on content from the EMC Solutions Enabler Symmetrix Array Controls Product Guide. The example suite will progress through the following steps:
1. Enable the FAST Controller. 2. Generate I/O against devices in the Storage Group. 3. Monitor FAST Data movement. 4. Monitor performance of the devices in the Storage Group. 5. Re-examine tier demand within the FAST Policy.
The following provides each of these steps in more detail.
1. Enable the FAST Controller.
In order to generate a configuration change plan, the FAST controller must be Enabled.
Verify the current state of the FAST Controller by running:
Symmetrix ID: 000192601849 FAST State : Disabled Error Message : N/A Degraded Reason : N/A Current Activities : Idle
If the FAST VP State is Enabled proceed to the next step. If the FAST VP State is Disabled it may be enabled by running:
Symfast -sid xxx enable -vp
Execute ENABLE operation for FAST (y/[n]) ? y The FAST ENABLE operation finished successfully Symfast -sid xxx list –state -vp
Symmetrix ID: 000195600105 FAST VP State : Enabled Reason(s) : N/A FAST VP Current Activities : RunningPlan FAST VP Perf Time Window : Open FAST VP Move Time Window : Open
2. Generate I/O against devices in the Storage Group.
Workloads with a high read miss percentage are more likely to generate greater backend drive utilization and so are more likely to generate candidates to be moved by FAST VP.
Cache friendly workloads may not generate FAST VP data movements as backend utilization will not be high.
3. Monitor FAST data movement.
Individual data movements will not be logged on the Symmetrix. However, data movement can be monitored by reviewing the storage group’s demand report. As thin device extents are relocated, the FAST SG Usage values and Growth values for each tier should change.
Symfast -sid xxx list -association -demand -sg Thin_ProdApp1 Symmetrix Id : 000192601849 Policy Name : Performance_Test Storage Group : Thin_ProdApp2 Priority : 2 Tiers (3) { ------------------------------------------------------------------- Logical Capacities (GB) ------------------------------- Target Max SG Max SG FAST SG Name Type Prot Percent Demand Usage Growth ------------- ---- -------- ------- ---------- --------- ---------- FLASH THIN R5(3+1) 100 420 12 +408 R57_FC_450GB THIN R5(7+1) 100 420 276 +144 SATA THIN R6(14+2) 100 420 132 +288 Total ---------- --------- 1260 420 }
Allocation information for individual thin devices can also be monitored to indicate data movement. A report can be generated to display the pool a thin device is bound to, along with other pools that that device may have extents allocated in.
To see binding and allocation information for a range of thin devices, run:
4. Monitor performance of the devices in the Storage Group.
FAST VP performance data movements can also be monitored by measuring performance statistics, such as response time, to see if overall performance of the application is improving. Tools such as SPA, the Solutions Enabler STP daemon, or other host-based tools may be used for this purpose.
5. Re-examine tier demand within the FAST Policy.
To see the current capacity demand for the storage group, run:
symfast –sid xxx list -association –demand -sg Thin_ProdApp1
Symmetrix Id : 000192601849 Policy Name : Performance_Test Storage Group : Thin_ProdApp1
Priority : 2 Tiers (3) { ------------------------------------------------------------------- Logical Capacities (GB) ------------------------------- Target Max SG Max SG FAST SG Name Type Prot Percent Demand Usage Growth ------------- ---- -------- ------- ---------- --------- ------- FLASH THIN R5(3+1) 100 420 0 +420 R57_FC_450GB THIN R5(7+1) 100 420 420 +0 SATA THIN R6(14+2) 100 420 0 +420 Total ---------- --------- 1260 420 }
Creating Compliance-based Data Movement with FAST VP One of the algorithms used for generating a FAST VP data movement is a capacity based algorithm. The goal of the capacity based algorithm is to enforce user defined FAST VP policies for each of the storage groups. A FAST VP storage group is considered to be in violation of a capacity restriction if some of the allocated capacity of the storage group is “out of tier” (located in a tier that is not a part of the policy managing the device), or if the storage group is consuming more than its allocated capacity within a tier in the policy.
In this example, a policy violation will be purposely created to force FAST VP to generate a capacity based data movement. The sample suite will progress through the following steps:
1. Confirm previous settings for the FAST Controller. 2. Create a FAST Policy. 3. Associate the Storage Group with the FAST Policy. 4. Verify the Storage Groups Non-Compliance with the FAST Policy. 5. Enable the FAST Controller. 6. Monitor FAST Data Movement. 7. Verify the Storage Groups Compliance with the FAST Policy.
The following provides each of these steps in more detail.
1. Confirm previous settings for the FAST Controller:
Symfast -sid xxx list –control_parms
Symmetrix ID: 000195600105
Optimizer and FAST Control Parameters: Data Movement Mode : User_Approve Max Simultaneous Device Moves : 8 Max Device Moves Per Day : 200 Optimizer, FAST and FAST VP Control Parameters: Min Initial Workload Period(hrs) : 2 Workload Analysis Period(hrs) : 2
FAST Control Parameters: Swap Not Visible Devices : Disabled Allow Only Swap : Disabled FAST VP Control Parameters: FAST VP Data Movement Mode : AUTO FAST VP Data Relocation Rate : 3 Thin Pool Reserved Capacity(%) : 10 VP Allocation By FAST policy : Disabled
2. Create a FAST Policy.
Create a thin FAST Policy by adding the three thin tiers created in the previous step. The tiers will have the following usage limits within the policy
FLASH : 25 FC : 50 SATA : 25
• To create the policy, run:
Symfast -sid xxx -fp create -name Capacity_Test
• To add the three previously create thin tiers to the policy, run:
symfast -sid xxx -fp -fp_name Capacity_Test add -tier_name FLASH -max_sg_percent 25 symfast -sid xxx -fp -fp_name Capacity_Test add -tier_name FIBRE -max_sg_percent 50 symfast -sid xxx -fp -fp_name Capacity_Test add -tier_name SATA -max_sg_percent 25 Symfast -sid xxx show -fp_name Capacity_Test Symmetrix ID : 000192601849 Policy Name : Capacity_Test Tiers(3) { ------------------------------------------------------------------ Max SG Target Tier Name Type Percent Tech Protection ------------------------------------------------------------------ FLASH THIN 25 EFD RAID-5(3+1) FIBRE THIN 50 FC RAID-1 SATA THIN 5 SATA RAID-6(14+2) }Tiers(3) { No Storage Groups associated with Policy Capacity_Test
• Disassociate the previously used Platinum policy with the SG Thin_ProdApp1.
Tiers(3) { -------------------------------------------------------------- Max SG Target Tier Name Type Percent Tech Protection --------------------------------------------------------------- FLASH THIN 25 EFD RAID-5(3+1) FIBRE THIN 50 FC RAID-1 SATA THIN 25 SATA RAID-6(14+2) } Legend: Flags: (P)inned : Y = Device is Pinned, N = Device is not Pinned+2)
4. Verify the Storage Groups Non-Compliance with the FAST Policy.
To see the current capacity demand for the storage group, run:
Symfast -sid xxx list -association –demand -sg Thin_ProdApp1
Symmetrix Id : 000192601849 Policy Name : Capacity_Test Storage Group : Thin_ProdApp1 Priority : 2 Tiers (3) { ------------------------------------------------------------------- Logical Capacities (GB) ------------------------------- Target Max SG Max SG FAST SG Name Type Prot Percent Demand Usage Growth ------------- ---- -------- ------- ---------- --------- ---------- FLASH THIN R5(3+1) 25 102 0 +102 FIBRW THIN R1 50 204 0 +204 SATA THIN R6(14+2) 25 102 408 -306 Total ---------- --------- 408 408 }
The negative value for the SATA tier in the demand output indicates that currently the storage group is using 306 GB more than is allowed by the associated policy. As such, 306 GB of allocated capacity will need to be distributed across the other tiers in the policy to bring the storage group into compliance.
NOTE: The capacities displayed in the output reflect allocated capacity for the thin devices in the storage group and not configured capacity.
5. Enable the FAST Controller
In order to generate a configuration change plan, the FAST controller must be Enabled.
Verify the current state of the FAST Controller by running:
Symmetrix ID: 000192601849 FAST State : Disabled Error Message : N/A Degraded Reason : N/A Current Activities : Idle
• If the FAST State is Enabled proceed to the next step.
• If the FAST State is Disabled it may be enabled by running:
Symfast -sid xxx enable -vp
Execute ENABLE operation for FAST (y/[n]) ? y
The FAST ENABLE operation finished successfully
Symfast -sid xxx list –state -vp
Symmetrix ID: 000195600105 FAST VP State : Enabled Reason(s) : N/A FAST VP Current Activities : RunningPlan FAST VP Perf Time Window : Open FAST VP Move Time Window : Open
6. Monitor FAST Data movement.
Individual data movements will not be logged on the Symmetrix. However, data movement can be monitored by reviewing the storage group’s demand report. As thin device extents are relocated, the FAST SG Usage values and Growth values for each tier should change.
Symfast -sid xxx list -association -demand -sg Thin_ProdApp1
Symmetrix Id : 000192601849 Policy Name : Capacity_Test Storage Group : Thin_ProdApp1 Priority : 2 Tiers (3) { ------------------------------------------------------------------- Logical Capacities (GB) ------------------------------- Target Max SG Max SG FAST SG Name Type Prot Percent Demand Usage Growth ---------- ---- -------- --------- -------- ------- -------- FLASH THIN R5(3+1) 25 102 2 +100 FIBRE THIN R1 50 204 82 +122 SATA THIN R6(14+2) 25 102 324 -222 Total ---------- --------- 408 408 }
Allocation information for individual thin devices can also be monitored to indicate data movement. A report can be generated to display the pool a thin device is bound to, along with other pools that that device may have extents allocated in.
7. Verify the Storage Groups Compliance with the FAST Policy.
After some time, the storage group should reach compliance. If the Growth column in the storage group’s capacity demand report does not contain any negative values, then the storage group is in compliance with the policy.
To see the current capacity demand for the storage group, run:
symfast -sid xxx list -association -demand -sg Thin_ProdApp1 Symmetrix Id : 000192601849 Policy Name : Capacity_Test Storage Group : Thin_ProdApp1 Priority : 2 Tiers (3) { ------------------------------------------------------------------- Logical Capacities (GB) ------------------------------- Target Max SG Max SG FAST SG Name Type Prot Percent Demand Usage Growth -------- ----- -------- ------- ---------- --------- ---------- FLASH THIN R5(3+1) 25 102 102 +0 FIBRE THIN R1 50 204 204 +0 SATA THIN R6(14+2) 25 102 102 +0 Total ---------- --------- 408 408 }
Performing a Virtual Device VLUN Migration with Solutions Enabler Virtual LUN (VLUN) VP Mobility allows virtual devices to be migrated non-disruptively between virtual storage pools within a single Symmetrix VMAX series storage array. This example assumes the Virtual devices are provisioned to a host and have existing data. The examples commands show how to migrate virtual devices between two storage pools. It is expect I/O will be running to the devices during the migration.
The example progresses through the following steps for VLUN 3:
1. Examine the virtual binding and allocation information. 2. Examine migration target Storage Pool. 3. Validate the proposed migration. 4. Establish and monitor the migration. 5. Verify migration completion and data on Migration devices. 6. Verify Audit log entries. 7. Terminate the migration.
The following provides each of these steps in more detail.
1. Examine the virtual binding and allocation information.
This checks the proposed device and pool parameters are allowed or the validate function can output a file containing suggested device pairings from configured devices.
This white paper described D910 VP technology, configuration using SE, port settings, and examples of FAST VP and VLUN migration. Always consult the latest Virtual Provisioning and FAST VP performance recommendations with regard to sizing, workload, device types, and protection before implementing any solution.
References Refer to EMC Online Support website (registration required) at https://support.EMC.com for the following documentation:
• EMC Host Connectivity Guide for IBM i • EMC Symmetrix VMAX Series with Enginuity For IBM i Environments White