HP Logical Server Management Best Practices

15
Storage provisioning interactions
Figure 9 shows the typical flow of tasks and interactions, wherein a server administrator creates a logical server,
which contains information about the desired storage resources (size, redundancy, multi-pathing, intended OS, and
so on) as well as the WWNs allocated for the server HBAs from the pool of Virtual Connect WWNs managed by
VCEM. The storage administrator uses that information to pre-allocate the storage (creating storage volumes,
presenting LUNs to the WWNs, and adjusting SAN zoning). Storage information is returned to the server
administrator, who adds that information to the logical server storage pool definition and can then proceed to
activate the logical server on a Virtual Connect blade. HP Matrix OE supports further improvements on this process
though integration with the HP Storage Provisioning Manager, as discussed in the following sub-section.
Figure 9: Server and storage administrator interactions
Consider the flow of tasks and interactions in Figure 9. The information from pre-work step 1 (for example, the storage
volume information and logical port HBA WWNs defined in Figure 7) is provided to the storage administrator, who
determines an appropriate way to support the requests (perhaps using solutions such as Storage Essentials). Having
chosen an appropriate storage array, the storage administrator performs pre-work step 2, creating and presenting the
storage volumes, and adjusting SAN zoning. Later sections of this white paper describe host creation and volume
presentation for the EVA and MSA disk arrays. Similar mechanisms exist for other array types. The key aspect is
presenting the storage volumes to HBA WWNs which are not currently visible on the fabric (since they will not be
applied by Virtual Connect until the logical server is initially activated). In some environments, storage administrator
policies may require the Virtual Connect WWNs be assigned to blades prior to storage presentation. This provides less
flexibility and results in a more time-consuming provisioning process, thus the workflow outlined above is recommended.
Once the storage administrator has presented the storage (and adjusted SAN zoning), the storage information (i.e.,
controller port WWN, LUN) is returned to the server administrator. In pre-work step 3, the server administrator adds
the information to the logical server storage specification; there is also a separate role in Matrix OE if it is more
appropriate for the storage administrator to directly enter the storage details. Figure 9 shows the possibility of
communicating the storage information via email; this communication can be done using existing storage