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Parity groups: creating, formatting, and deleting

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Creating parity groups by selecting drives manually

Use this procedure to create parity groups by selecting drives manually.

Before you begin

  • The Storage Administrator (Provisioning) role is required to perform this task.
  • The meta_resource is required to perform this task.

Procedure

  1. On the Parity Groups tab, select Create Parity Groups.

  2. Select a drive from the Drive Type/RPM/Capacity list.

  3. Select a RAID level from the RAID Level list.

  4. Select Manual from the Drive Selection field.

  5. In the Available Drives table, select drives. Drives must be selected up to the number displayed in The number you have to select.

  6. Click Options.

  7. In the Initial Parity Group ID text box, type the number of the initial parity group ID.

    The smallest available number is displayed in the text box by default. When you specify a parity group ID that was already registered, the smallest available ID is displayed. If a parity group ID is unavailable, no number is displayed.

  8. Select the CLPR number from the Cache Partition list.

  9. In the Encryption field, select Enable or Disable.

  10. In the accelerated compression field, select Enable or Disable.

    If Enable is selected in the Encryption field, you cannot select Enable in the accelerated compression.
    TipTo use accelerated compression-enabled parity group, if you change the accelerated compression from enable to disable, you must format the parity group. Therefore, we recommend that the accelerated compressionmust be enabled only when the data reduction efficiency can be surely performed.

  11. In the Copy-Back Mode field, select Enable or Disable.

  12. Click Add.

    The created parity group is added to the Selected Parity Groups table. If invalid values are set, an error message appears.
    Tip
    • When you select multiple rows and click Concatenate, click OK. If selected parity groups cannot be concatenated, an error message appears.
    • If you select a row and click Change Settings, the Change Settings window appears. After you change parity group settings, click OK.
    • If you select a row and click Detail, the Parity Group Properties window appears.
    • When you select a row and click Remove, click OK.

  13. Click Next.

    The Create LDEVs window appears.

  14. Click Finish. The Confirm window appears.

  15. In the Confirm window, click Apply to register the setting in the task.

    If the Go to tasks window for status check box is selected, the Tasks window appears.
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Creating parity groups by selecting drives automatically

Use this procedure to create parity groups by selecting drives automatically.

Before you begin

  • The Storage Administrator (Provisioning) role is required to perform this task.
  • The meta_resource is required to perform this task.

Procedure

  1. On the Parity Groups tab, select Create Parity Groups.

  2. Select a drive from the Drive Type/RPM/Capacity list.

  3. Select a RAID level from the RAID Level list.

  4. Select Auto from the Drive Selection field.

  5. In the Number of Parity Groups text box, enter the number you want to create.

  6. Click Options.

  7. In the Initial Parity Group ID text box, type the number of the initial parity group ID.

    The smallest available number is displayed in the text box by default. When you specify a parity group ID that was already registered, the smallest available ID is displayed. If a parity group ID is unavailable, no number is displayed.

  8. Select a drive box type from the Drive Box Type list.

  9. Select a drive box from the Initial Drive Box list.

  10. In the Drive Select Type field, select Disperse or Linear.

    TipThis item is not available with VSP G350, VSP G370, VSP F350, VSP F370. If this storage system is used, only Linear is available.

  11. Select the CLPR number from the Cache Partition list.

  12. In the Encryption field, select Enable or Disable.

  13. In the accelerated compression field, select Enable or Disable.

    If Enable is selected in the Encryption field, you cannot select Enable in the accelerated compression.
    TipIf you have enabled accelerated compression on a parity group and then later you want to disable accelerated compression on that parity group, you must format the parity group. Therefore, we recommend that you enable accelerated compression only when the data reduction efficiency can be surely performed.

  14. In the Copy-Back Mode field, select Enable or Disable.

  15. Click Add.

    The created parity group is added to the Selected Parity Groups table. If invalid values are set, an error message appears.
    Tip
    • When you select multiple rows and click Concatenate, click OK. If selected parity groups cannot be concatenated, an error message appears.
    • If you select a row and click Change Settings, the Change Settings window appears. After you change parity group settings, click OK.
    • If you select a row and click Detail, the Parity Group Properties window appears.
    • When you select a row and click Remove, click OK.

  16. Click Next.

    The Create LDEVs window appears.

  17. Click Finish. The Confirm window appears.

  18. In the Confirm window, click Apply to register the setting in the task.

    If the Go to tasks window for status check box is selected, the Tasks window appears.
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Formatting parity groups

Use this procedure to format parity groups.

NoteIf parity group formatting is performed on the same storage system by multiple applications, the operation requested first is performed, and the operations requested later fail. For example, if parity group formatting is being performed by a maintenance PC and a parity group format is requested by the SVP, the parity group formatting requested by the SVP fails.

Before you begin

The Storage Administrator (Provisioning) role is required to perform this task.

Procedure

  1. Block all LDEVs in the target parity groups. For instructions, see Blocking LDEVs.

  2. Perform one of the following to display the Format Parity Groups window.

    • Click Format Parity Groups.
    • Click Actions Parity Group Format Parity Groups to open the window.

  3. In the Format Parity Groups window, in Task Name type a unique name for this task or accept the default, then click Apply.

    If Go to tasks window for status is checked, the Tasks window opens.
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Spare drives and copy-back mode

Spare drives are mounted separately from the data drives that are used for host read and write operations. If a failure occurs in a data drive, data is copied to a spare drive so that the storage system can continue to be available to hosts.

Copy-back mode determines whether the data on a spare drive is returned to a data drive after recovery. If copy-back mode is enabled, when a failed drive is recovered, data is moved from the spare drive to the recovered drive. If copy-back mode is disabled, when a failed drive is recovered, data is left on the spare drive. You can enable or disable copy-back mode for each parity group.

The following maximum number of spare drives can be specified for each storage system:

  • VSP G350: 16
  • VSP G370: 24
  • VSP G700: 48
  • VSP G900: 64
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Assigning spare drives

Spare drives are used to store data if a data drive fails.

Before you begin

The Storage Administrator (Provisioning) role is required to perform this task.

Procedure

  1. Click Storage Systems, and then expand the Storage Systems tree.

  2. Click Parity Groups.

  3. Select the Drive tab.

    If desired, select one or more drive boxes that have the value Free in the Usage column.

  4. Click Assign Spare Drives.

  5. In the Available Drives table, select one or more drive boxes, and then click Add.

    The selected drive boxes are moved to the Selected Spare Drives table.

  6. Click Finish.

  7. In the Confirm window verify the settings.

  8. In Task Name enter a unique name or accept the default, and then click Apply.

    If Go to tasks window for status is checked the Tasks window opens.
Parent Topic
  • Spare drives and copy-back mode

    Spare drives are mounted separately from the data drives that are used for host read and write operations. If a failure occurs in a data drive, data is copied to a spare drive so that the storage system can continue to be available to hosts.

Releasing spare drives

You can release spare drives so they can be used as data drives.

Before you begin

The Storage Administrator (Provisioning) role is required to perform this task.

Procedure

  1. Click Storage Systems, and then expand the Storage Systems tree.

  2. Click Parity Groups.

  3. Select the Drive tab.

    If desired, select one or more drive boxes that have the value Free in the Usage column.

  4. Click Assign Spare Drives.

  5. In the Selected Spare Drives table, select one or more drive boxes, and then click Remove.

    The selected drive boxes are moved to the Available Drives table.

  6. Click Finish.

  7. In the Confirm window verify the settings.

  8. In Task Name enter a unique name or accept the default, and then click Apply.

    If Go to tasks window for status is checked the Tasks window opens.
Parent Topic
  • Spare drives and copy-back mode

    Spare drives are mounted separately from the data drives that are used for host read and write operations. If a failure occurs in a data drive, data is copied to a spare drive so that the storage system can continue to be available to hosts.

Editing copy-back mode

Copy-back mode determines whether data on spare drives is restored after a failed drive is recovered.

Before you begin

The Storage Administrator (Provisioning) role is required to perform this task.

Procedure

  1. Click Storage Systems, and then expand the Storage Systems tree.

  2. Click Parity Groups.

  3. On the Parity Groups tab, select a parity group.

  4. Click More Actions Edit Copy-back Mode.

  5. Select Edit Copy-Back Mode, and then select one of the following options:

    • Enable: When a failed drive is recovered, data that was copied to the spare drive is returned to the recovered drive.
    • Disable: When a failed drive is recovered, data that was copied to the spare drive is left on the spare drive.

  6. Click Finish.

  7. In the Confirm window verify the settings.

  8. In Task Name enter a unique name or accept the default, and then click Apply.

    If Go to tasks window for status is checked the Tasks window opens.
Parent Topic
  • Spare drives and copy-back mode

    Spare drives are mounted separately from the data drives that are used for host read and write operations. If a failure occurs in a data drive, data is copied to a spare drive so that the storage system can continue to be available to hosts.

Deleting parity groups

Before you begin

The Storage Administrator (Provisioning) role is required to perform this task.

Procedure

  1. Perform one of the following to display the Delete Parity Groups window.

    • Click More Actions Delete Parity Groups.
    • Click Actions Parity Group Delete Parity Groups to open the window.

  2. In the Confirm window, , confirm the settings. In Task Name type a unique name for this task or accept the default, then click Apply.

    A message appears asking whether you want to delete the selected parity group or parity groups. To remove the row, click Apply. If Go to tasks window for status is checked, the Tasks window opens.
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