A simplified, visual process for connecting storage to one system
To accomplish the initial setup of storage resources for a DPM-enabled system, system and storage administrators use the CONNECT TO STORAGE wizard of the Configure Storage task. For access to external storage devices, the initial setup includes defining the protocol of the adapter cards that are installed in the system I/O drawers, and building a visual copy of the storage hardware devices in the SAN and their FICON® connections to this system. These hardware devices include disk storage subsystems, fabrics, and switches. To make adapter card configuration easier to accomplish, the Configure Storage Cards page of the CONNECT TO STORAGE wizard displays a visual abstraction of each physical I/O drawer in the system.
A simplified, visual process for connecting storage to one system
An I/O drawer can contain different types of adapter cards, so DPM highlights only the slots containing an adapter card that can be used for connections to storage devices. For the Configure Storage Cards page, DPM automatically detects and displays all installed storage adapters, which include the following types.
- FICON
Express adapter cards connect the system
to devices in the storage area network (SAN) through Fibre Channel connections. Each FICON adapter card is configured to operate in a specific mode,
which determines the type of external storage device that can be connected to the adapter card.
- Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP) mode provides access to Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) devices, which include tape libraries as well as disk storage.
- FICON native (FC or FICON) mode provides access to extended count key data (ECKD) devices (also known as direct-access storage devices, or DASD).
- Non-Volatile Memory Express® (NVMe) storage adapters use the PCI Express (PCIe) protocol to provide high-speed storage within a system. These storage adapters are available on IBM LinuxONE (LinuxONE) systems only, when those systems have IBM® Adapter for NVMe1.1 features installed.
Figure 1 shows a sample visual display of one drawer on the Configure Storage Cards page.
In the Configure Storage Cards page shown in Figure 1, the adapter cards that can you can configure contain selectable labels. You can manually configure cards by clicking the FCP or FICON label to select the protocol. Or, for an automated approach, you can use other controls on the page to provide a total number of FICON or FCP cards for DPM to automatically select and configure for optimal redundancy and availability. This automated approach is available only when the system is not yet physically attached to SAN hardware through cables. Red dots in the drawer display indicate the most recently configured FICON or FCP adapter cards.
Depending on the configuration of the system, you might need to use navigation controls to view all of the frames, drawers, and cards on the Configure Storage Cards page. For single-frame systems, use the scroll bar or expand/collapse controls to view adapters in the frame drawers. For multiple-frame systems, use the overview map to change the viewport display, as shown in Figure 2.
- Figure 2 shows Frame A centered in the viewport.
- Selectable frame buttons on either side of Frame A provide a way to change the viewport to either the previous or next frame in the system. These buttons are displayed only when the system is configured with additional frames to the left or right of the current frame.
- The overview map shows how many frames are in the system, how many I/O drawers are in each frame, and highlights the I/O drawer that is currently displayed in the viewport. Red dots in the overview map indicate recent changes to a specific frame that contains an I/O drawer with storage adapter cards. To change the display, select a different frame in the overview map or use the frame buttons. Scroll up or down to view the drawers within the current frame.
Note that, in Figure 2, Frame A contains NVMe cards as well as FICON and FCP adapter cards. If the system has one or more IBM Adapter for NVMe1.1 features, the frame display also indicates the current location of any installed NVMe carrier card. Although you can view NVMe cards in the page display, you cannot configure them.
After configuring FICON or FCP adapter cards, the next step is to configure the FICON storage devices in the SAN that are or will be connected to the DPM system, such as disk storage subsystems, fabrics, and switches. (Do not define tape libraries as part of the FICON connections in this step; DPM generates the required connections to tape storage through tape links instead.) As it does for adapter cards in an I/O drawer, the Configure Storage task also provides a simplified, visual approach to building a replica of FICON storage devices in the SAN.
The Configure FICON Connections page of the CONNECT TO STORAGE wizard provides a basic visual layout of the storage configuration, along with hover help to guide you through the process of defining a replica of the storage hardware that is or will be connected to the system. This configuration can contain at most two physical sites where storage devices are located. The primary site is always where the DPM-enabled system is physically located.
Highlighted controls on this page make it easy to add more storage subsystems, fabrics, and switches to match the physical hardware configuration of the SAN. Links within the boxes open windows through which you define the connections between specific devices. After you define these connections, lines in the display indicate which devices are connected, and the number of connections.
If the DPM-enabled system is not yet physically attached to SAN hardware through cables, DPM provides several automated options for this configuration process; for example, storage administrators have the option of having DPM select port connections. However, if the system is already cabled, you need to supply information that reflects the physical connections that are already in use.
- Fully configured adapter cards on the DPM-enabled system.
- Fully enabled FICON connections that link the system to physical elements in the SAN.
- An exportable file of an FCP and FICON adapter cabling plan that you can use to physically connect the system to SAN hardware. The file is in Comma Separated Values (CSV) format that you can view in a spreadsheet application. For a sample file, see Sample System Cabling Plan.