Work with NVM devices

This topic provides options and menu flow information for the Work with NVM devices option.

Create NVM namespaces
Select this option to create NVMe namespaces on the selected NVMe device. The NVMe namespace is a portion of memory that is formatted into logical blocks. The NVMe namespace is treated by the IBM® i operating system as a disk unit.
Notes:
  • Some NVMe devices allocate additional memory beyond what is requested. For example, some NVMe devices round up the memory allocation to the nearest 16 GB boundary.
  • To get the most efficient amount of storage for creating an NVMe namespace, select a capacity of 393 GB.
Delete existing NVM namespaces
Select this option to delete the NVMe namespace. This option removes the disk unit that is associated with the namespace from the IBM i operating system.
Note: This option is available only on namespaces with disk units that are non-configured or suspended from mirrored protection.
Sanitize/Erase NVM device
Select this option to overwrite the data or to change the crytographic key of the namespaces on the selected NVMe device. You can select one of the following options:
User data secure erase
All of the user data is erased. Contents of the user data after the erase operation is indeterminate. The controller might perform a cryptographic erase operation if all of the user data is encrypted.
Format cryptographic erase
All of the user data is erased by deleting the encryption key.
Sanitize Overwrite
The user data is altered by writing a data pattern on the NVMe device.
Sanitize block erase
The user data is altered with a low-level block erase method on the NVMe device.
Sanitize cryptographic erase
The user data is altered by changing the encryption keys on the NVMe device.
Notes:
  • Only a subset of the sanitize options might be available, depending on the type of the NVMe device.
  • After the sanitize operation is complete, all of the data in the namespaces that exist on the selected NVMe device is lost.
  • The sanitize option is available only for an NVMe device that contains namespaces that represent non-configured disk units. That is, disk units that do not belong to an auxiliary storage pool.
Format NVM device to prepare device for IBM i
Select this option to change the block size of the NVMe device to a format that the IBM i partition can recognize.
Notes:
  • After the format operation is complete, all of the data in the namespaces that exist on the selected NVMe device is lost.
  • The format option is available only for an NVMe device that contains namespaces that represent non-configured disk units. That is, disk units that do not belong to an auxiliary storage pool.
Display NVM namespaces
Select this option to display information about each NVMe device (type, serial number, and resource name) and information about each namespace that is defined on that NVMe device (type, model, serial number, resource name, ASP number, unit number, and capacity).
Display NVM device
Select this option to display information about each NVMe device (type, serial number, and resource name), information about the capacity of the NVMe device (used, available, and total capacity), and information about the namespaces on the NVMe device (used, available, and total namespaces).
Create NVM namespaces to match another NVM device
Select this option to create namespaces on an NVMe device that match the capacity of the namespaces on a selected NVMe device.
Create NVM namespaces to pair with Active mirror protected NVM units
If an NVMe device fails and if the NVMe device contains namespaces that are mirror-protected disk units in an auxiliary storage pool, all of the disk units on the failed NVMe device transition to a suspended mirror state.

Physically remove the failing NVMe device from the system. Then, physically install a new NVMe device.

This option performs the following steps:
  1. Auxiliary storage pools are examined to locate the NVMe-type mirror-protected disk units that are suspended from mirror protection.
  2. New namespaces are created on the newly installed selected NVMe device.
  3. The new namespaces are paired with the NVMe disk units that were detected in step 1.
  4. Mirrored protection is resumed on the newly created disk units. The data is copied from the active member to the resuming member of the mirrored pair.