Planning for EMC VNX storage

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Before you use VNX storage with PowerVC, make sure that it is properly set up and be aware of all considerations for using VNX storage.

Before using VNX storage

Table 1. Steps to complete before you use VNX storage with PowerVC
Step Details
Ensure that all host requirements are met. See Hardware and operating system requirements for PowerVC hosts .

Verify that your PowerVM® host and Fibre Channel card firmware are at the current levels, and update them if necessary.
Ensure that all system requirements for using the VNX cinder driver are met. See the EMC VNX driver page in the OpenStack website for details.
Install NaviSphere CLI on a PowerVC management server that is running on an x86 host. Install the appropriate version of the NaviSphere CLI before registering VNX with PowerVC. These websites require an EMC account.

See the EMC VNX driver page in the OpenStack website for additional information about Navisphere CLI.
Create a storage pool. Refer to your EMC VNX documentation for instructions to create storage pool. You can use CLI commands or the UniSphere user interface to create the storage pool.
Optional: Prepare your system for using NPIV. See NPIV connected VNX storage for information.
Optional: Prepare your system for using vSCSI. Refer to Before using vSCSI storage and vSCSI connected VNX storage for information.

Considerations for using VNX storage

  • VNX requires Navisphere CLI to be installed on a PowerVC management server before VNX storage can be used. That PowerVC management server must be running on an x86 host.
  • It is recommended to use IP address while registering VNX.
  • The number of volumes might limit how many volumes you can have on a single VNX storage device for a multivolume deploy. Refer to VNX documentation to determine the number of concurrent volume cloning operations that your device supports.
  • For NPIV connectivity using EMC PowerPath installed on the virtual machine, the following apply:
    • PowerVC can capture and deploy AIX® 6.1 or 7.x virtual machines with EMC PowerPath enabled for the boot disks. PowerPath driver version 5.7 SP2 is required.
    • For AIX 7.1 virtual machines that use EMC PowerPath, deploys must use compute templates that specify at least 2 GB of memory.
  • A VNX volume is not a candidate for volume snapshot if it is a member of a group.
  • If the target pool does not have enough space, volume creation is attempted which fails eventually. PowerVC reports the total space on the provider and not the capacity available on the pool.

NPIV connected VNX storage

Before you use NPIV connected VNX storage with PowerVC, complete these steps:
  1. Connect the PowerVC server to a SAN switch.
  2. Connect the SAN switch to the VNX storage device.
  3. Access the PowerVC user interface and add the storage device and switch to PowerVC.
When you use NPIV connected VNX storage with PowerVC, you must understand how they interact:
  • When a virtual machine is deployed, the following activities happen:
    1. An initiator group is created and registered with VNX. The initiator group contains the virtual machine name and its WWPNs for all virtual machines that are in the storage connectivity group that was used for deployment.
    2. A storage group is created.
    3. A boot volume is attached. This boot volume is a clone of the image volume.
    4. The new storage group is added to the new initiator group.
    5. Zones are created in the registered SAN switch.
    Note: When you use PowerVC to create a virtual machine backed by EMC storage and then view it in EMC Unisphere, the management server IP address is shown in the Host IP address column.
  • When an initiator group is created with a storage group for the virtual machine and the volume that is attached to it, the virtual machine sees the VNX volume and starts up.
  • When a volume is attached to a virtual machine, the following activities happen:
    • A data volume is attached.
    • Zones are created in the registered SAN switch.
  • When a volume is detached, the following activities happen:
    • The volume is removed from the storage group.
    • The volume is no longer visible to the virtual machine.
    • The appropriate zone is removed from the SAN switch.
  • When an unattached volume is deleted, it is removed from the storage device's logical unit list.
  • When a volume is created, it is created in VNX and is not associated with any storage group.

vSCSI connected VNX storage

Before you can use vSCSI connected VNX storage with PowerVC, you must complete these steps:
  1. Connect the PowerVC server to a SAN switch.
  2. Connect the SAN switch to the VNX storage device.
  3. Access the PowerVC user interface and add the storage device to PowerVC.
    Note: You do not need to register the SAN switch because PowerVC does not create or delete zones for vSCSI connected VNX storage.
  4. Ensure that an initiator group exists in VNX for each VIOS. For each VIOS, the initiator group must be created for at least one WWPN with Logged in set to yes and Registered set to no. Initiator groups are created automatically after the server is connected to the switch and storage device. Alternatively, you can create it manually.
    Important: If you create the initiator group in VNX, ensure that the storage group associated with the initiator group matches the name of the storage group that is created by PowerVC. This storage group is named powervc_server_name_virtual_machine_ID, where the powervc_server_name is the machine type model (MTMS) of the server that PowerVC is installed on. For example, if the PowerVC server name is 8250A5_123456 and its virtual machine ID is 1, the storage group name is 8250A5_123456 _1. In a dual VIOS environment, another storage group is created with the other virtual machine ID. For example, 8250A5_123456 _2.
  5. You must configure all zoning between the Virtual I/O Server and the storage device ports. This allows vSCSI environments to be imported easily and allows you to use any number of fabrics with vSCSI. For instructions, see Configuring zoning.
When you use vSCSI connected VNX storage with PowerVC, understand how they interact:
  • When a virtual machine is deployed, the following activities happen:
    • PowerVC tries to use an existing initiator group. The initiator group must contain the VIOS name and its WWPNs for all Virtual I/O Servers that are in the storage connectivity group that was used for deployment.
    • If the initiator group does not exist, it is created during deployment and is named WWN concatenated to VIOS_WWPN. The value for WWN is the same as the value for VIOS_WWPN, with first character changed from 1 to 2. For example, if the VIOS's WWPN is 1000000000000000, WWN is 2000000000000000 and the initiator name is 20000000000000001000000000000000.
    • A storage group is created. This storage group is named powervc_server_name_virtual_machine_ID, where the powervc_server_name is the machine type model (MTMS) of the server that PowerVC is installed on. For example, if the PowerVC server name is 8250A5_123456 and its virtual machine ID is 1, the storage group name is 8250A5_123456 _1. In a dual VIOS environment, another storage group is created with the other virtual machine ID. For example, 8250A5_123456 _2.
      Important: Because initiator records might already exist in VNX, ensure that the storage group associated with the initiator group matches the name of the storage group that is created by PowerVC.
    • A boot volume is created and attached to the storage group. In a dual VIOS environment, the same volume is attached to both VIOS storage groups.
    Note: When you use PowerVC to create a virtual machine backed by EMC storage and then view it in EMC Unisphere, the management server IP address is shown in the Host IP address column.
  • When a volume is attached to a vSCSI virtual machine, a data volume is created and attached to the existing storage group. In a dual VIOS environment, the same volume is attached to both VIOS storage groups.
  • When a volume is detached, the volume is removed from any storage groups that it is a member of.
  • When an unattached volume is deleted, it is removed from the storage device's logical unit list.
  • When a volume is created, it is created in VNX and is not associated with any storage group.