Requesting FICON or FCP storage for partitions to use

Review this topic to prepare for using the Request Storage task to create FICON or FCP storage groups for use by partitions on a DPM-enabled system. You can access the Request Storage task by selecting REQUEST STORAGE GROUP or CREATE STORAGE GROUP in the Configure Storage task. (The option that you can select depends on the authorization of your user ID.) Using this task does not require extensive knowledge of mainframes or LinuxONE systems; however, a storage administrator must fulfill any requests for storage. If you need more guidance when you use this task, see the detailed instructions that are available through the online help for the Configure Storage task.

Before you create the request for a storage group

  • If you want to request Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) storage, see the topic Requesting NVMe storage for partitions to use.
  • If you want to request access to FCP tape storage, see Requesting tape storage for partitions to use.
  • Before you can successfully request storage, physical storage hardware (subsystems, switches, and so on) must be connected by cables, and storage cards must be configured.
  • For integrated requests and notifications, storage administrators (recipients) must have an email address associated with their user IDs, and Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) settings must be defined.
  • To open the Configure Storage task, you must have a customized user ID either with authorization to the task, or with the predefined System Programmer Tasks role. You also can use the default SERVICE user ID, but using a customized user ID is the suggested practice. For instructions to authorize users, see Authorizing users of the Configure Storage task.

An overview of the Request Storage process for FCP and FICON storage groups

To request storage for partitions to use, you define one or more FCP or FICON storage groups. A storage group is a logical group of storage volumes that share certain attributes. FCP storage groups can be shared by multiple partitions, and multiple storage groups can be attached to one partition.

You can define FCP or FICON® storage groups with or without the use of a template. By creating templates, administrators can predefine storage group attributes and volumes for one or more FCP or FICON storage groups. Templates can reflect typical usage patterns (production, staging, test); standardize storage for specific user groups; or document company requirements or restrictions that might be in place for storage use. You can select an available template and, with minimal changes, quickly submit a request for a new storage group.

The following steps describe the process of creating a storage group with or without the use of a template. Note that templates are based on the storage group type: FCP or FICON. An administrator can create one or more templates for each type, even if no storage adapter cards of that type are configured for the system.

Step 1. Specify the attributes for the storage group
On the Specify Storage Attributes page, define the attributes for the storage group.
  • Type: FICON or FCP. This setting represents the type of storage devices that the storage group can use, and also controls the other attributes or default settings that are displayed on this page.
  • Shareability: Shared or Dedicated. If you select Dedicated, then only one partition is able to use this storage group. If you select Shared, specify the number of partitions that can share this storage group. The maximum number of partitions is set automatically to the system limit.
  • Connectivity: The the number of paths to be available for use by each operating system with access to this storage group. The number of paths that you can define varies, depending on the storage group type. For FCP, the limit is the total number of adapters that are configured as FCP on the system; for FICON, the limit is the number of adapters that are configured as FICON on the system, up to a maximum of eight. The number that you select affects overall bandwidth, performance, and redundancy.
  • Optimized for 2nd level virtualization: Select this attribute when you want to enable the direct assignment of host bus adapters (HBAs) so an operating system or its guests can access an FCP storage group. DPM distributes additional HBAs as equally as possible, taking into account both fabrics and adapters that will be assigned to this storage group, as indicated through the Connectivity attribute setting.

    Although the controls in the Configure Storage task allow you to select this attribute only for a dedicated (not shared) FCP storage group, you can optimize 2nd level virtualization for separate partitions so they can share the same storage disks. For more information, see Optimize 2nd level virtualization and share the same FCP disks across partitions.

Step 2. Specify the size and type of each volume to be added to the storage group
On the Add Storage Volumes page, specify the size and type of each volume to be added to the storage group. If you are using a template for this storage request, the table on this page might contain predefined volumes that you can modify. Otherwise, this page initially contains a table heading with controls for defining a volume. The information you provide for this step varies, depending on the type of storage group: FCP or FICON.
  1. For FCP, provide the capacity in gibibytes (GiB); for FICON, select a predefined model or custom size, and DPM automatically fills in the appropriate values for GiBs and cylinders.
  2. For both FCP and FICON storage group volumes, specify the type as either Data or Boot.
  3. Optionally, for FICON volumes only, you can assign device numbers. The suggested practice is to have DPM automatically assign device numbers to avoid conflicts; in this case, DPM assigns device numbers only when the storage group is first attached to a partition.
  4. Optionally, you can provide a description of the FCP or FICON volume, and duplicate it by specifying the number of copies that you want.
Step 3. Name the storage group and, optionally, specify duplicates
On the Name and Duplicate page, specify the name of your new storage group. Optionally, provide a description and, if you want to easily duplicate the storage group, enter the number of duplicates and modify the names as necessary. For the name of the storage group, specify a value that is 1 - 64 characters in length. Supported characters are alphanumerics, blanks, periods, underscores, dashes, or at symbols (@). Names cannot start or end with blank characters. The name must uniquely identify the storage group from all other storage groups that are defined for this system.

If you request any duplicates, DPM uses the storage group name that you provided, and appends an underscore and sequential number to give each duplicate a unique name. You can edit the name of any duplicate, but all names must be unique.

Step 4. Send the storage group request to a storage administrator for fulfillment
DPM automatically generates a storage request for each storage group that you have requested. If your installation has configured SMTP, you can fill in the name of one or more storage administrators and submit the request. Otherwise, you can download or copy the generated request and send it to one or more storage administrators.

Results of using the Request Storage task

When you submit your request for one or more storage groups, DPM automatically generates the world wide port names (WWPNs) that are allocated to virtual storage resources when the storage group is attached to a partition.

After your request is received, the storage administrator uses storage management tools to select and configure the physical storage volumes that fulfill your request.

  • For an FCP storage group, DPM periodically checks for the requested volumes, and updates their fulfillment status on the Storage Overview tab of the Configure Storage task. When the storage administrator completes the configuration through tools for managing storage subsystems, DPM changes the storage group status to Complete.
  • For a FICON storage group, the storage administrator not only completes the configuration through tools for managing storage subsystems, but also maps the base volumes (which were created on the storage subsystem to fulfill your request) to volumes that you requested for the storage group. DPM changes the storage group status to Complete only after the volumes have been mapped through the Map Volumes action in the Configure Storage task. The Map Volumes action is accessible only through the Storage Details page for a FICON group, and is accessible only to storage administrators who are using the default STORAGEADMIN user ID, or a user ID with equivalent permissions.

What to do next

  • You can create another storage group or select GO TO STORAGE OVERVIEW to view the status of the requested storage groups. If you are viewing a page in the Configure Storage task when the fulfillment status for the storage group changes to Complete, you receive an online notification.
  • If you have defined boot and data volumes that are the same size, and your storage administrator fulfills your storage request with a preinstalled boot volume, you need to make sure that the correct volume is identified as the boot volume. Using the preinstalled boot volume ID that you receive from your storage administrator, go to Storage Overview, select the storage group to open the Storage Group details page, look up the volume ID on the VOLUMES tab, and make sure that the type for the preinstalled volume is Boot. If it is not, select the Modify icon to change the volume type.
  • Use the Partition Details task to attach one or more storage groups to an existing partition, or attach them when you create a new partition through the New Partition task. You can attach storage groups that are not fulfilled yet; however, DPM issues a warning if you try to start a partition or apply changes to an existing partition before the storage group is fulfilled. Although the partition can be started, the operating system and applications that run on it might not function properly because some storage is not available until the fulfillment status for the storage group changes to Complete.