Creating a storage pool

Edit online

A storage pool is defined by a logical grouping of (Slicestor) devices used to store vault data.

Before you begin

Note: A new storage pool can only be create from unassigned devices. A Slicestor tor device can only be assigned to one storage pool.
When creating a storage pool, consider the following items:
  • Slicestor devices can be selected from any number of sites.
  • Each pool width (for a given vault) must be a multiple of the vault width.
  • Devices in the pool can be mixed with different model types with different capacities.
    Warning: This is not recommended. You should use the same model type with the same capacity. Contact IBM Technical Support for details.
  • Each device can only be allocated to a single pool.
  • When choosing a Vault Name Index format please consider the work loads associated with the index format.
  • You can create a storage pool with fewer than a full width number of devices. Similarly, you can expand an existing storage pool with fewer than a full width number of devices.
When creating a storage pool using Concentrated Dispersal, the following additional items apply:
  • Each storage pool must have a minimum of three devices and a maximum of seven devices (3 devices <= storage pool width <= 7 devices).
  • The vault width is a restricted multiple of the pool width (for a given vault). Example: Storage pools with three devices can have vault widths of 18 and 36.
  • All devices in a pool must have the same number of drives.
  • Slicestor® Devices in a Concentrated Dispersal system must have at least 12 Drives.
  • Slicestor® Devices in a Concentrated Dispersal system must have at least 32 GB of memory.
  • Slicestor® Devices in a Concentrated Dispersal system using embedded Accesser® Appliances must have at least 128 GB of memory.
    Note: The embedded Accesser® functionality can be enabled on an existing storage pool or newly created storage pool. When enabled, all the Slicestor® Devices in the storage pool will have the embedded Accesser® functionality activated. Upon the activation of the configuration change, the dsnet-core application will restart on all the Slicestor® Devices in the storage pool. Wait for all the applications to restart before resuming I/O operations. The embedded Accesser® functionality can be disabled on storage pools that have it enabled.
    Important: You must contact IBM Technical Support before disabling the embedded Accesser® functionality.

Procedure

  1. Navigate to Configure > Summary. Click Create Storage Pool.

    Storage pools can have different capacity nodes. A model group, consisting of nodes that can be included in the same storage pool, must be selected. If nodes across multiple sites are available, the required site must be selected.

    Note: If a storage pool has nodes that span multiple sites, it is recommended that the nodes be balanced across the sites. Not balancing the nodes can introduce read or write availability issues if a single site outage occurs.
  2. Type a name for this storage pool in the Name field.
  3. Select an IDA width for this storage pool from the Width drop-down box.
    To use Concentrated Dispersal vaults in this pool, select a small width of 3 - 9 Slicestor® Devices.
  4. Optionally, configure a different Vault Index Version at an individual storage pool and override the global system setting for Default Name Index Format using either the Create Storage Pool page or the Edit: StoragePoolName page. You can choose one of three options.
    1. Use the system configured format (Version 4).
    2. Version 4 : Required for data management features, such as Object Expiration. Provides significantly improved S3 listing performance, with reduced small-object write performance.
    3. Version 2: Cannot be used with data management features, such as Object Expiration. Provides lower S3 listing performance and improved small-object write performance. Should be used when listing is not a significant portion of your workload and your applications are latency-sensitive.
    Note: For more information on Use Cases and Workflow see Selecting Vault Name Index Format
  5. Select the Slicestor® devices to add to this pool.
    1. If you know the devices you want to add, filter devices by storage engine, model group, or site, then select the Slicestor devices for the new device set.
      Note: Available filters can vary based on system configuration.
    2. If you don't know the devices you want to add, click Suggest Devices to allow the Manager application to select Slicestor devices on your behalf.
  6. Select devices either automatically using Suggest Devices per the above rules, or manually. Suggest Devices selects the width number of devices by using the selected check boxes that list devices by drive count. More than one drive count check box can be selected.
    Note: If you reimaged a Slicestor appliance for use in a storage pool, the device might not be available for use immediately after approval. The Slicestor appliance can be used when the device starts publishing a valid "Storage Engine" and "Total Size" to the Manager
  7. Click Save to create the Storage Pool.

What to do next

Attention:

If there is not an even distribution of Slicestor devices across the available sites where the loss of one site would make Vaults either unusable or read-only, the Manager Web Interface displays a confirmation dialog box that asks the operator if they accept the settings with the risks they present:

The selected devices are not balanced evenly across sites. This could lead to read and write availability 
issues in the case of a site outage. Do you still wish to continue?

The operator can click Cancel or OK to change or keep the settings.

From the Configure Storage Pool page, click Change to rename this storage pool or Monitor to shortcut to the monitor function for this storage pool. A different storage pool can be selected from the storage pool landing page.