Using Virtual Storage Scale Out (VSSO)

Ops Center Automator User Guide
Version
11.0.x
Audience
anonymous
Part Number
MK-99AUT001-22

Virtual Storage Scale Out (VSSO) is a scale-out feature that allows multiple physical storage systems to be handled as a single mass storage system by defining the common virtual storage machine (VSM) for multiple physical storage systems.

You can do the following in Ops Center Automator:
  • Allocate volumes without being aware of the physical storage system configuration
  • Perform migration for load balancing

Before you begin

  • To perform migration for load balancing, you should ensure that virtual LDEV IDs are not duplicated in the VSM.
  • There are prerequisites for the microcode version of the physical storage systems that comprise the VSM. See Service template supported platforms for details.
  • There are prerequisites when the Select MPU/MPB based on utilization option is enabled. See Prerequisites and precautions when using the "Select MPU/MPB based on utilization" option for details.
  • We recommend that the number of physical storage systems that comprise each VSM be 16 or less. Depending on the system configuration, the Virtual Storage Machine table might take some time to appear in the Edit Service and Submit Service Request windows of the Allocate Volumes with Smart Provisioning service.

Complete the following steps:

  1. Determine the virtual model and virtual serial number of each VSM.
  2. Create a VSM on each physical storage system by specifying the virtual model and virtual serial number determined in step 1. When the VSM is created, a resource group is also automatically created.
    Tip: The Global-Active Device Setup service can be used to create a VSM.
    You can create a common VSM on each physical storage system by submitting the service with the following settings:
    1. The first and second physical storage systems:
      • VSM Creation Type: "Create new VSMs on both the primary and secondary storage systems."
      • Virtual Model: The virtual model determined in step 1.
      • Virtual Serial Number: The virtual serial number determined in step 1.
    2. The third and subsequent physical storage systems:
      • Primary Storage System: The physical storage system specified as the first or second.
      • Secondary Storage System: The physical storage system where to create a new VSM.
      • VSM Creation Type: "Duplicate the primary storage system VSM to the secondary storage system."
      • Virtual Storage Machine: The VSM created in step a.
  3. Create a pool for each physical storage system.
  4. Consider and determine the range of virtual LDEV IDs to be assigned to each physical storage system that comprises the VSM so that there is no duplication among physical storage systems.
  5. Create a web service connection for the Configuration Manager to be used, and register all physical storage systems that comprise the VSM to the Configuration Manager connection. Make sure that you select the Receive configuration-notifications from the storage system check box in the Register Local Storage System dialog box.
  6. Determine the physical LDEV ID, port, and host group ID to be used for each physical storage system and add them to the VSM resource group.

Allocating volumes without being aware of the physical storage system configuration

You can allocate volumes without being aware of the physical storage system configuration by specifying a VSM and submitting the provisioning service.

  1. Edit the provisioning service according to the following steps:
    1. On the Services tab, select the Allocate Volumes with Smart Provisioning service, and click Edit.
    2. In the Edit Service window, in the Settings pane, enter the following information:
      Navigation pane Settings pane To set
      Volume Settings Configuration Manager Connection The Configuration Manager Connection to use
      Storage System Selection Automatic
      Select from Virtual Storage Machine
      Virtual Storage Mapping Definition Information of all VSMs, all physical storage systems that comprise each VSM, and the Virtual LDEV ID range for each VSM and physical storage system.

      For details of the above parameter settings and other parameter settings, see Allocate Volumes with Smart Provisioning: Service details to enter the values.

    3. Click Save and Close.
  2. Submit the provisioning service according to the following steps:
    1. On the Services tab, select the service edited in step 1, and click Create Request.
    2. In the Submit Service Request window, in the Settings pane, retain the values already entered and enter the following additional information:
      Navigation pane Settings pane To set
      Volume Settings Virtual Storage Machine The Virtual Storage Machine to use
      Volumes Settings Modify the setting values to match the conditions of the volumes to be allocated
      Host Settings Number of Hosts Single or Multiple, as desired
      Host Name The name of the host to which you want to allocate volumes
      WWN Settings WWN information to use
      Task Settings Task Name The desired task name
      Description Name The description of the task if required
      Schedule Type Immediate or Schedule, as desired
      Note: There must be only one resource group within the specified VSM for each physical storage system that comprise the VSM. If multiple resource groups are defined, the resource group with the minimum ID will be used.
    3. Click Submit and click OK in the Submit Service confirmation dialog box.
    4. On the Tasks tab, in the Tasks view, select the submitted task, then click Show Details to view the task running status. Once the task completes, volume allocation completes.

When you submit the "Allocate Volumes with Smart Provisioning" service and allocate shared volumes to multiple hosts by specifying a VSM, the pool for volumes allocated to the hosts might not be unified even if "Enabled" is specified for "Select the same storage system". This is because the pool for volumes is automatically determined from multiple pools based on usage status. To unify the pool used by the hosts, submit the service according to the following steps.

  • If volumes are already allocated to multiple pools and the pools are not unified:
    1. Select all of the target multiple hosts, set the shared volume parameters in Volume Settings, and submit the "Allocate Volumes with Smart Provisioning" service.
    2. If there are volumes which you do not share, select each host, set the parameters for the volumes which you do not share in Volume Settings, and submit the "Allocate Volumes with Smart Provisioning" service.
  • If you want to allocate new shared volumes:
    1. Select all of the target multiple hosts and submit the "Allocate Volumes with Smart Provisioning" service.
    2. If there are hosts that require allocating different volumes, submit the "Allocate Volumes with Smart Provisioning" service by specifying the target hosts.

Prerequisites and precautions when using the "Select MPU/MPB based on utilization" option

  • When the option is enabled, Ops Center Analyzer 11.0.3-00 or later is required.
  • For each VSM specified for volume allocation, all storage systems that comprise the VSM should be monitored performance by a single Analyzer. If data collection is disabled in Ops Center Analyzer, enable it by following the change-etl-config procedure in the Hitachi Ops Center Analyzer Installation and Configuration Guide.
  • When the option is enabled, the load for all MPUs/MPBs is leveled. Since all MPUs/MPBs might be used for assignment, specific MPUs/MPBs cannot be excluded from assignment to a volume as a specific use.
  • When the option is enabled, the storage system and MPU/MPB are determined based on the MPU/MPB utilization during the period specified for Performance evaluation window. If the specified period is short or there are many blank periods in the acquired data, the storage system and MPU/MPB might be determined based on performance data that is not sufficiently leveled.
  • If there is a MPU/MPB that has failed or is being replaced, the MPU/MPB might fluctuate rapidly immediately after a failure recovery. It is necessary to run the task after the number of days specified for Performance evaluation window has elapsed.
  • When volume allocation for many hosts is performed simultaneously, the MPU/MPB to be assigned is selected without the utilization of the allocated volumes being reflected in Ops Center Analyzer. We recommend that you start using the allocated volumes and allocate volumes to other hosts after some time.

Performing migration for load balancing

You can use the Nondisruptive Data Migration (NDM) services of Ops Center Automator to distribute the load of the physical storage systems that comprise the VSM.

  1. Identify the physical storage systems and volumes that require load balancing, and determine the physical storage systems and pools to be migrated to.
  2. Perform the migration by entering the information determined in step 1 into the NDM service. For details about using the NDM services, see Online migration with Configuration Manager service templates.
    Note: For load balancing, we recommend that you configure the service with the following settings:
    • Delete the Host group: Disabled
    • Delete the Volume: Enabled
    • Set Host Mode Option 88 to Host Groups automatically: Disabled