HP P9000 Provisioning for Mainframe Systems User Guide (AV400-96369, October 2011)

3 Configuring custom-sized provisioning
Configuring custom-sized provisioning involves creating and configuring a customized volume
(CV). A CV is a fixed-sized volume that is divided into arbitrary sizes.
This provisioning strategy is suitable for use on both open and mainframe systems. Virtual LVI or
Virtual LUN software is required to configure variable-sized provisioning.
Virtual LVI/Virtual LUN functions
Virtual LVI or Virtual LUN functions are used to create, configure, or delete a customized volume
(LDEV).
The Virtual LUN and the Virtual LVI function are collectively referred to as VLL. The only difference
between the two functions is that Virtual LUN is an open systems function available in Open Volume
Management software, while Virtual LVI is a mainframe function available in Virtual LVI software.
A parity group usually consists of some fixed-sized volumes (FVs) and some free space. The number
of FVs is determined by the emulation type. A VLL volume usually consists of at least one FV, one
or more customized volumes (CVs), and some free space.
You can use VLL to configure variable-sized volumes that efficiently exploit the capacity of a disk.
Variable-sized volumes are logical volumes that are divided into smaller size than normal (fixed-size)
volumes. This configuration is desirable when frequently accessed files are distributed across smaller
multiple logical volumes. This generally improves the data accessing performance, though file
access may be delayed in some instances.
VLL can also divide a logical volume into multiple smaller volumes to provide space efficiencies
for small volumes such as command devices. Thus, VLL can efficiently exploit the capacity of a disk
by not wasting capacity using larger volumes when they are not needed.
VLL requirements
Use of Virtual LVI or Virtual LUN on the P9500 storage system to configure variable-sized volumes
requires the following:
• A license key on the Remote Web Console computer for Virtual LVI: This software is for
mainframe systems.
For details about the license key or product installation, see the HP P9000 Remote Web Console
User Guide.
VLL specifications
“Virtual LVI specifications for mainframe systems” (page 26)
“CV capacity by emulation type for mainframe systems” (page 27)
Virtual LVI specifications for mainframe systems
Mainframe systemParameter
3380, 3390Track format
3380-3, 3380-3A, 3380-3B, 3380-3CEmulation type
3390-3, 3390-A, 3390-3A, 3390-3B, 3390-3C, 3390-3R, 3390-9,
3390-9A, 3390-9B, 3390-9C, 3390-L, 3390-LA, 3390-LB, 3390-LC,
3390-M, 3390-MA, 3390-MB, 3390-MC, 3390-V
Depends on the track geometryAbility to intermix emulation type
2,048 for RAID5 (7D+1P) or RAID6 (6D+2P)Maximum number of volumes (normal and
Virtual LVI) per parity group
26 Configuring custom-sized provisioning