HP Logical Server Management Best Practices

Figure 18: Modify logical server storage pools

As noted earlier (and shown previously in Figure 14), the administrator can view all entries across portability groups,

or focus in on a particular portability group (and further refine the storage pool entries shown via filtering). The

administrator clicks the “Add Entry” button to create a storage pool entry.

Figure 18 also shows the three choices available when defining a logical server storage pool entry (in advance of

logical server definition). “SAN Storage Entry” indicates the use of a traditional storage pool entry with manual

specification of storage details. It is the only choice available when defining storage as part of defining a logical

server. The other two choices represent use of the storage catalog. Through HP Storage Provisioning Manager, the

storage administrator has the ability to define a storage catalog and enable certain storage operations (such as

changing host mode and performing LUN masking). They can pre-populate the catalog with volumes (so a match can

be found with no human intervention) or can choose to fulfill the requests as they are received by SPM.

“SAN Catalog Storage Entry” indicates the catalog will be searched for matches, using the Virtual Connect initiator

WWNs Matrix OE has automatically allocated. If no matches are found, the storage pool entry can be saved, the

storage administrator would create the storage and fulfill the request, and the entry status would be updated in the

Manage Storage Pool interface. If matches are found, one can be selected. The storage administrator may have

enabled LUN masking, so appropriate storage presentation can be done automatically when a storage volume is

selected for use (binding/associating it to the storage pool entry). This allows flexible re-use of storage volumes. Not

all administrators may choose to enable automatic LUN masking, and the choice of “SAN Pre-populated Catalog

Storage Entry) is used to ensure Matrix OE will not allocate the initiator WWNs, but rather the storage pool entry will

be populated with the initiator WWNs from the selected catalog entry. This is for the use case wherein a storage

administrator reserves a set of WWNs, creates and presents the storage, does appropriate SAN zoning, and places

those volumes in the catalog for logical server use without needing to automatically adjust LUN masking (the volumes

are view only in SPM and retain the LUN masking done by the storage administrator).

Figure 19 shows the administrator has specified a type of “SAN Storage Entry”, indicating the storage details will be

supplied manually; the SPM storage catalog is not being used. This leads to the same interface the administrator

would use if defining storage while defining a logical server. The storage detail information can be manually supplied

either via these screens or through a CLI import capability discussed in a later section of this white paper.

The storage needs in the definition of this storage pool entry for a server with Virtual Connect portability group remain

the same, whether the catalog is used or not. The administrator begins with adding ports and selecting the

appropriate fabrics. The fabric choices offered match those defined when configuring Virtual Connect. The Matrix OE

software will allocate Virtual Connect initiator WWNs for each port, and the administrator has the option to replace