Administrator Guide

Provisioning disk groups and pools

The Storage Setup wizard guides you through each step of the process, including creating disk groups and pools in preparation for

attaching hosts and volumes.

NOTE: You can cancel the wizard at any time, but changes that are made in completed steps are saved.

Access the Storage Setup wizard from the Welcome panel or by choosing Action > Storage Setup. When you access the wizard, you

must select the storage type for your environment. After selecting a storage type, you are guided through the steps to create disk groups

and pools. The panels that appear and the options within them are dependent upon:

• Whether you select a virtual or linear storage type

• Whether the system is brand new (all disks are empty and available and no pools have been created)

• Whether the system has any pools

• Whether you are experienced with storage provisioning and want to set up your disk groups in a certain way

On-screen directions guide you through the provisioning process. If at any point you decide that you want to manually provision the

system, cancel the wizard to do so. For more information about manual provisioning, see Configuring and provisioning a new storage

system.

NOTE: You can use the Storage Setup wizard with manual provisioning. The Storage Setup wizard provides you with

optimal storage configuration options to quickly enable I/O operations. Manual provisioning offers more options and

greater flexibility, but with added complexity. If you choose to use the wizard, you can still manually provision the

system at a later time.

Select the storage type

When you first access the wizard, you are prompted to select the type of storage to use for your environment. Read through the options

and make your selection, then click Next to proceed.

NOTE:

After you create a disk group using one storage type, the system will use that storage type for additional disk

groups. To switch to the other storage type, you must first remove all disk groups. For more information, see Removing

disk groups.

Create disk groups and pools

The panel that appears when creating disk groups and pools is dependent upon whether you are operating in a virtual storage environment

or a linear storage environment.

Virtual storage environments

If you are operating in a virtual storage environment, the system scans all available disks, recommends one optimal storage configuration,

and displays the suggested disk group layout within the panel. Disk groups are automatically grouped together by pool and tier and include

a description of the total size and number of disks that will be provisioned (including the configuration of spares and unused disks).

If the system is unable to determine a valid storage configuration, the wizard lists the reasons why and provides directions on how to

achieve a proper configuration. If the system is unhealthy, an error is displayed along with a description of how to fix it. Follow the

recommendations in the wizard to correct the errors, then click Rescan to view the optimized configuration.

For a system with no pools provisioned, if you are satisfied with the recommended configuration, click Create Pools to provision the

system as displayed in the panel and move on to attaching hosts. For a system that contains a pool, if you are satisfied with the

recommended configuration, click Expand Pools to provision the system as displayed in the panel.

If your environment requires a unique setup, click Go To Advanced Configuration to access the Create Advanced Pools panel. Select

Add Disk Group and follow the instructions to manually create disk groups one disk at a time. Select Manage Spares and follow the

instructions to manually select global spares.

Linear storage environments

If you are operating in a linear storage environment, the Create Advanced Pools panel opens. Select Add Disk Groups and follow the

instructions to manually create disk groups one at a time. Select Manage Spares and follow the instructions to manually select global

spares. Click the icon for more information about options presented.

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