HP Storage Hardware Providers VDS/VSS Installation Guide (5697-1131, August 2011)

Notes on installing HP P9000 hardware providers
The following can affect the performance of the HP hardware providers:
• Server load
• Volume size (larger PVOLs take longer to copy)
• VSS hardware provider mode (Resync mode copies faster than VSS mode)
The following notes will help ensure successful operation of the hardware providers:
• A host group named SVOL or <anyname>_SVOL containing secondary (SVOL) LUNs must be
defined for use with VSS. This host group should not have any host paths to it.
• A host group specifically named Shadow must be defined for use with VSS. This host group must
not have any host paths to it.
• For VSS, primary and secondary volumes must be the same type and size. There must be at least
as many secondary volumes as primary ones; some applications require more than one secondary
volume for each primary volume.
• While using VDS/VSS hardware providers on P9000 family of disk arrays, ensure that no provi-
sioning operations are being performed simultaneously using other management applications such
as Remote Web Console.
• A command device LUN must be defined for each server running the hardware providers. This
LUN cannot be used to store data.
• In a VMware ESX server environment, a single command device can be shared at an instance by
a maximum of 15 guest operating systems (virtual machines), each running an instance of VSS or
VDS hardware providers.
• Port Security must be ON.
• HP XP10000 and XP12000 disk arrays can be configured with up to 32 storage logical partitions
(SLPRs) numbered from 0 to 31. You have two options when configuring SLPRs:
• If the disk array is configured with a command device on SLPR0, HP hardware providers treat
the disk array as a single system and all SLPRs are managed as a unit through the command
device on SLPR0.
• If the disk array is configured without a command device on SLPR0 but has multiple SLPRs (such
as SLPR1, SLPR2...SLPR31), HP hardware providers manage each SLPR separately through a
separate command device on each SLPR. The HP hardware providers cannot cross over the
SLPR boundaries. That is, the command device, PVOLs, and SVOLs must reside on the same
partition (have the same SLPR number) for the providers to work with them.
• When making shadow copies of a multi-partitioned, GPT-formatted volume, make shadow copies
of only one partition at a time. For example, if the source GPT-formatted volume has three partitions
(M: N: O:), do not create a shadow copy set containing any two of those partitions or the shadow
copy set will fail during import.
Using Microsoft's VShadow test tool as an example, the following commands will create and import
the shadow copy on the local server:
vshadow -p M:
vshadow -p N:
vshadow -p O:
Using the VShadow test tool, the following commands will create the shadow copy set but will not
be able to import it:
vshadow -p M: N:
vshadow -p M: O:
vshadow -p N: O:
HP Storage Hardware Providers VDS/VSS Installation Guide 27