Operating Environment Software Manual

6 Defining storage for logical servers
This chapter presents underlying concepts to provide a better understanding of how a given
storage definition maps into the physical Virtual Connect environment, and explains how to
define storage entries and storage pool entries for a logical server.
NOTE: For more information about logical server and Insight Orchestration storage, including
integrating with non-HP servers and HP rack mount servers, see the following white papers at
www.hp.com/go/insightdynamics/docs:
Logical Server Management Best Practices
Server and Storage Workflows for HP Insight Dynamics
Insight Dynamics — Automated Storage Provisioning: “Static” SAN volume automation via multi-initiator
NPIV
The logical server storage requirements specified in a storage pool entry are fulfilled by storage
volumes created by the storage administrator. Detailed information about those volumes can be
provided using the following methods:
• Specify storage information directly into the logical server storage entry and storage pool
entry screens. See “Logical server storage”.
• Use the Storage Provisioning Manager to retrieve candidate matching entries from the SPM
storage catalog. Details are automatically populated into the logical server storage pool entry
when the appropriate entry is chosen. See “Storage Provisioning Manager”.
• Use LSMUTIL to export storage requirements into an XML file, share the XML file with the
storage administrator who supplies details of the provisioned volumes, and import a modified
XML file to populate the resulting information into storage pool entries. See “Using LSMUTIL
with logical server storage”.
The Virtual Connect environment
HP Virtual Connect provides server virtualization technology by extracting key pieces of the
server’s identity into a server profile. This profile may be flexibly assigned to different c-Class
server blades over time. The server profile includes, among other things, a set of one or more
MAC addresses and WWNs. When the server profile is assigned to the c-Class blade, these MAC
addresses and WWNs become the server’s identity on the Ethernet network and Fibre Channel
fabric to which it is attached. Any SAN resources available to the server profile are also available
to the physical server to which the profile is applied. This effectively allows the SAN resource
access to travel with the server profile rather than being constrained to a specific physical server.
Figure 6-1 Server blades in a BladeSystem c-Class enclosure
The Fibre Channel and network connections within an enclosure are hardwired through a
midplane which physically maps the blade’s Fibre Channel and network ports to the enclosure’s
The Virtual Connect environment 73