Optimizing storage pools

Analyze the activity of pools and resolve performance hot spots by redistributing volumes across each storage tier.

Before you begin

Discontinued support: Storage optimization is no longer supported in IBM Spectrum Control. While the feature might still work in this release, it's recommended that you use another tool for your optimization needs, when possible. For a complete list of discontinued features, see Discontinued features in IBM Spectrum Control.

Before you balance pools, complete the following tasks:

Probe the storage virtualizer. You must probe the storage virtualizer to collect information about the logical devices, such as volumes and virtual disks, that are associated with the storage virtualizer.
Collect performance data. To gauge the average activity level of the volumes and pools, you must collect sufficient performance data for the storage virtualizer.
Assign a tier level to the pools that you want to balance.

About this task

You can balance the workload of volumes in pools on the same tier on storage systems that run IBM Storage Virtualize.

Restriction: You cannot balance the workload of volumes in data reduction pools.

Learn more: For information about the components that can be used with IBM Spectrum Control 5.2 (or later), see External link icon

IBM Spectrum Control interoperability matrix.

To balance pools, you must select two or more pools on the same tier level and on the same storage virtualizer. For example, you select three tier 1 pools, and four tier 3 pools. The pools on tier 1 are analyzed and balanced, and the pools on tier 3 are analyzed and balanced.

Optimizing volumes with service classes: Recommendations are not generated to move volumes that are assigned a service class to a destination pool that does not meet the requirements of the service class.