Deleting a volume

You can use the command-line interface (CLI) or the management GUI to delete a volume.

Use the rmvolume command or the management GUI to delete an existing volume and all mirrored copies. In addition, all data on the volume is deleted. In the management GUI, select Volumes > Volumes and right-click the volume to delete and select Delete.

A warning displays if the volume is currently used with any of the following dependent objects or actions:

Host mappings
Remote-copy relationships
FlashCopy relationships
Backup operations

Each warning is displayed in a separate tile in the management GUI. To confirm the deletion of these volumes, select the check box on each tile and select Delete. Without confirmation, the volume is not deleted.

If the volume does not have any dependent objects or actions, it is deleted.

Attention: Data cannot be recovered from a deleted volume.

The extents that make up the volume are returned to the pool of free extents that are available on the pool. If any remote copy, FlashCopy or host mappings still exist for this volume, the delete fails. If the volume is mapped to hosts, use the -removehostmappings parameter to remove any host mappings to that volume. Similarly, you can use the -removercrelationships and the -removefcmaps parameters to delete any existing remote copy relationships or FlashCopy mappings when the volume is deleted.

The volume protection feature can be enabled to prevent a volume from being deleted if it receives I/O within a defined time period.

To delete a volume by using the command-line interface, complete this step:

Enter the following command to delete a volume and all existing host mappings:
```
rmvolume -removehostmappings myvol
```
where myvol is the volume name for the volume that you are deleting.

To remove a HyperSwap volume from the command-line interface, complete these steps:

Log in as a user with the VASA Provider security role.
Enter the following command to delete a volume:
```
rmvolume highavailabilityvol
```
where highavailabilityvol is the volume name that you are deleting.