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

Formatting LDEVs
If you initialize LDEVs that are being used, you will need to format the LDEVs. Read the following
topics before formatting LDEVs:
• “About formatting LDEVs” (page 39)
• “Storage system operation when LDEVs are formatted” (page 39)
• “Quick Format function” (page 39)
• “Write-to-control Blocks function” (page 40)
Formatting LDEVs includes the following tasks:
• “Formatting a specific LDEV” (page 41)
• “Formatting all LDEVs in a parity group” (page 41)
About formatting LDEVs
The LDEV Format feature includes Normal Format, Quick Format, and Write-to-Control Blocks
functions. These functions format volumes, including external volumes. Before formatting volumes,
ensure that the volumes are in blocked status.
The following table lists which formatting functions can be used on which LDEV types.
LDEV for mainframe systemsFormatting function
Internal volumeNormal Format
Virtual volume
External volume
Internal volumeQuick Format
External volumeWrite To Control Blocks
Storage system operation when LDEVs are formatted
The storage system acts in one of two ways immediately after an LDEV is added, depending on
the default settings in the storage system.
• The storage system automatically formats the added LDEV. This is the default action.
• The storage system blocks the LDEV instead of automatically formatting it.
To confirm or change the default formatting settings on the storage system, contact the administrator.
Users who have the Storage Administrator (Provisioning) role can change these default formatting
settings using Remote Web Console.
Quick Format function
The Quick Format function formats internal volumes in the background. While Quick Format is
running in the background, you can configure your system before the formatting is completed with
settings such as creating a file system, and creating a Continuous Access Synchronous Z pair.
Before using Quick Format to format internal volumes, ensure that the internal volumes are in
blocked status.
If any I/O operation is performed from a host during Quick Format, it is best to use volumes with
performance monitoring enabled, because formatting in the background might affect performance.
Formatting LDEVs 39