8100 Updating Product Software Guide (XCS 6.250) (5697-1716, February 2012)

Analyzing storage system I/O using HP P6000 Performance Data Collector

Use the HP P6000 Performance Data Collector included with HP P6000 Command View to gather

and analyze statistics on storage system utilization. This section provides recommendations on

using HP P6000 Performance Data Collector to gather statistics to help identify periods of low

storage system activity.

For more information about HP P6000 Performance Data Collector, see the chapter “Monitoring

array performance” in the HP P6000 Command View User Guide. See Table 1 (page 7) for the

link to this document.

Guidelines for using HP P6000 Performance Data Collector

Use HP P6000 Performance Data Collector to identify periods of low I/O activity, during which

you can safely perform on online upgrade of the storage system firmware. Use the following tips

to ensure that you select an appropriate period during which I/O is low and remains low.

NOTE: Before using HP P6000 Performance Data Collector, you may want to configure friendly

names to simplify identifying your storage systems, virtual disks, and hosts. See the HP P6000

Command View User Guide for more information about friendly names.

• Identify a time period during which the I/O load on the storage system will be low. During

this time period, run HP P6000 Performance Data Collector to gather I/O data.

• Run HP P6000 Performance Data Collector to gather I/O data during the chosen time period.

For example, if you suspect that I/O load may be low between midnight and 2 AM on Sunday

morning, run HP P6000 Performance Data Collector during this period.

• If the I/O pattern is low, capture the data over the same time period several more times to

ensure the low I/O pattern is repeatable.

• After selecting a time period for the upgrade, perform the following tasks to ensure that I/O

activity does not increase unexpectedly during the upgrade:

◦ Alert all system users that they should minimize the load on the storage system during the

time period selected for the upgrade.

◦ Identify any automated processes that may increase I/O load during the upgrade period,

including backup applications and scripts. Suspend these processes for the duration of

the upgrade.

HP P6000 Performance Data Collector command options

Use the following options with the HP P6000 Performance Data Collector commands:

• -csv: Uses comma-separated output. This format is useful for importing large amounts of data

into a spreadsheet for analysis.

• -cont n: Runs the command continuously at an interval specified by n. The default interval

is one second.

• -dur n: Specifies the duration of a continuous mode session. For example, if you enter

evaperf hps -cont 2 -dur 30, host port data is displayed at two second intervals for

a total of 30 seconds.

• -sz array: Limits data collection to the specified array(s). You must specify at least one

array; use the storage system World Wide Name (WWN) or friendly name.

• -fo filename: Directs output to a specified filename. Include the path information as

necessary.

Selecting an appropriate time to perform an online upgrade 23