SVC Controller Configuration; Violin Memory Flash Storage Platform 7-Series

Content

Preventive Service Planning

Abstract

This erratum should be used by anyone using the IBM System Storage SAN Volume Controller Software to configure these systems with the Violin Memory Flash Storage Platform 7-Series.

Who should use this guide

This erratum should be used by anyone using the IBM System Storage SAN Volume Controller Software to configure these systems with the Violin Memory Flash Storage Platform 7-Series.

You should review the errata contained within this guide and note the details with respect to the suitable SVC infocenter information and Best Practices from the Redbooks.

http://www-01.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/STPVGU/welcome
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/portals/storage

Note; SAN Volume Controller, SVC, also denotes suitable IBM Storwize controllers.

Configuring the Violin Memory Flash Storage Platform 7-Series

This portion of the document covers the necessary configuration for using a Violin Memory Flash Storage Platform 7-Series with an IBM SAN Volume Controller cluster.

Support models of Flash Array

The 7-Series models are supported for use with the IBM SVC;

Initial Support firmware levels of Flash Array

Concerto Version:	7.5.x
SVC Version	7.6.x

For support on later versions, consult :-
http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/support/storage/ssic/interoperability.wss

Concurrent maintenance on Flash Storage Platform

Concurrent Firmware upgrades are supported as per 7-Series procedures.

7-Series interface

This is the Violin Symphony Flash Management Console GUI.
Software is installed on a management host for browser access
https://192.168.122.130/admin/pages/home/dashboard.html#t0
Users configure the 7-Series via this browser.

There is also a CLI accessed via ssh sessions.
SNMP and Remote Assist can be configured.

Explanations will assume use by the GUI.
Setup is largely intuitive, with minimal settings or configuration.
-> Manage, LUNs, SanClients.


Logical units and target ports on 7-Series

LUNs

The supports LUN sizes from 1GB to 64TiB.
A Volume is referenced by the LUN name.

Greater than 2TB LUNs are supported by SVC.

SVC will detect the controller when zoned without Luns being provisioned.

The Lun number can be edited.

All controller ports should present the same Luns.

Use default "read/write shared" and "all targets ON" option unless there is a specific reason not to.

LUN IDs

7-Series will identify exported Logical Units through
SCSI Identification Descriptor type 3.
The 64-bit, NAA IEEE Registered Extended Identifier (NAA=6
for the Logical Unit is in the form;
6-OUI-VSID .
The Violin Memory IEEE Company ID is; 001b97 (Violin Technologies),
the rest is a vendor specific ID.

# lsmdisk 32
id 32
name mdisk32
status online
mode managed
mdisk_grp_id 0
mdisk_grp_name violin_7200
capacity 1000.0GB
quorum_index
block_size 512
controller_name VIOLIN11
ctrl_type 4
ctrl_WWNN 2000001B9722B070
controller_id 11
path_count 32
max_path_count 32
ctrl_LUN_# 0000000000000005
UID 6001b97ad21d45e69cfd55e5f7106f9700000000000000000000000000000000
preferred_WWPN 2100001B9722B471
active_WWPN many
fast_write_state empty
raid_status
raid_level
redundancy
strip_size
spare_goal
spare_protection_min
balanced
tier tier0_flash
slow_write_priority
fabric_type fc
site_id
site_name
easy_tier_load very_high
encrypt no
distributed no
drive_class_id
drive_count 0
stripe_width 0
rebuild_areas_total
rebuild_areas_available
rebuild_areas_goal
dedupe no
preferred_iscsi_port_id
active_iscsi_port_id
replacement_date

Configure 7-Series including Logical Drives and Hosts.

Settings are in general default unless specified.

The Array will be configured as a thick or thin provisioned and as de-dupped storage pool. If over-allocating the storage capacity, care should be taken to monitor the systems remaining capacity to avoid taking related SVC mdiskgroups offline.

The underlying storage is not visible but has vRAID (violin) structure.

Zone SVC to the storage first, and check SVC can see all the expected controller ports as controllers. [ svcinfo detectmdisk, svcinfo lscontroller ]

Creating an SVC Host;
SVC can be either a Host or if preferred a Host Group, there is no difference.
From main page on GUI go to Storage, click Hosts then select “+”
In the Dialogue box enter a suitable name for the SVC cluster,
the new host will be highlighted, then select “Host Ports” along the bar.
Click the right “gear wheel” and select “Configure Fibre Channel WWNs”
The SVC ports should all then be visible and selectable.
Add them all to the Host.

Creating Volumes;
From main page on GUI go to Storage, click Volumes then select “+”
Single or multiple volumes can be provisioned. Only selectable option is size.
There is a “gear wheel” selection menu on the right for other volume tasks.

Connecting SVC as a Host;
From main page on GUI go to Storage, click Hosts and select the new SVC Host.
Select “Connected Volumes” on the bar.
Go to the “gear wheel” on the right and select “Connect Volumes”
Select the volumes you wish to present to SVC.

Check on SVC that all is presented as expected and any errors corrected.
[ svctask detectmdisk, svcinfo lsdiscoverystatus]

# lscontroller
id controller_name ctrl_s/n vendor_id product_id_low product_id_high
9 VIOLIN9 VIOLIN CONCERTO ARRAY
10 VIOLIN10 VIOLIN CONCERTO ARRAY
11 VIOLIN11 1S502F00008 VIOLIN CONCERTO ARRAY
12 VIOLIN12 1S502F00008 VIOLIN CONCERTO ARRAY
20 VIOLIN20 VIOLIN CONCERTO ARRAY
21 VIOLIN21 VIOLIN CONCERTO ARRAY
22 VIOLIN22 1S502F00008 VIOLIN CONCERTO ARRAY
23 VIOLIN23 1S502F00008 VIOLIN CONCERTO ARRAY

To Modify, Resize, or destroy a Volume/LUN,.

The Volume must be removed from any SVC mdiskgroup and be in an “unmanaged” state before doing any modifications on the controller.

*** Note: Make sure the SVC mdisk is unmanaged (removed from any mdiskgroup) on the SVC Cluster before deleting the LUN on the 7-Series storage system.

*** Note: Do not use volume expansion on LUNs that are in use by a SAN Volume Controller cluster. For this to be recognised by SVC the mdisk must
be first made unmanaged by migrating or deleting from the MDiskGroup.

LUN Presentation

LUNs can be exported through all the available FC ports. .

Special LUNs

There are no special considerations to a Logical Unit numbering.

Target Ports

A 7-Series can have a total of 8 x 16GB FC ports.
Each WWNN will have an associated controller with 1x WWPN

[11:07:33] iop176093:~ # lscontroller 11
id 11
controller_name VIOLIN11
WWNN 2000001B9722B070
mdisk_link_count 8
max_mdisk_link_count 8
degraded no
vendor_id VIOLIN
product_id_low CONCERTO
product_id_high ARRAY
product_revision 7.00
ctrl_s/n 1S502F00008
allow_quorum no
fabric_type fc
site_id
site_name
WWPN 2100001B9722B070
path_count 64
max_path_count 64
iscsi_port_id
ip




7-Series WWNN and WWPN settings look like this:

50001b97SSSSSSSPP

5 - IEEE 803.2 extended 48-bit ID NAA format,
001b97 - IEEE unique VSID of OEM for Violin Technologies.
SSSSSSS - unique vendor-supplied serial number for the device.
PP - vendor specific code used to identify specific ports and controller

WWPN 2100001B9722B000

WWPN 2100001B9722AF70
WWPN 2100001B9722B070
WWPN 2100001B9722B470
WWPN 2100001B9722AF71
WWPN 2100001B9722B001
WWPN 2100001B9722B071
WWPN 2100001B9722B471


LU access model

All controllers are Active/Passive. In all conditions, it is recommended to cross connect the ports across FC switches to avoid an outage from controller failure.

LU preferred access port

The controller is Active/Passive.


Detecting Ownership

Detecting Ownership does not apply to 7-Series.

Switch zoning limitations for 7-Series.

There are no zoning limitations for 7-Series.
The 7-Series system presents itself to an SAN Volume Controller cluster as a separate controller for each WWPN. For example, if one of these storage systems has 4 ports zoned to the SAN Volume Controller, it appears as 4 controllers each with a single WWPN. A given logical unit (LU) is mapped to the SAN Volume Controller through all controller ports zoned to the SAN Volume Controller using the same logical unit number (LUN).

Fabric zoning

Each Fabric zone to all the SVC backend ports should contain at least one 7-Series port from each controller for robustness.

Violin uses NPIV, so ensure the ports from the alternative fabric are included in the zone.

portWwn of device(s) connected:
21:00:00:1b:97:22:b0:71
21:00:00:0e:1e:22:b0:71

alias: violin_7300
21:00:00:1b:97:22:af:70; 21:00:00:1b:97:22:af:71;
21:00:00:1b:97:22:b0:00; 21:00:00:1b:97:22:b0:01;
21:00:00:1b:97:22:b0:70; 21:00:00:1b:97:22:b0:71;
21:00:00:1b:97:22:b4:70; 21:00:00:1b:97:22:b4:71

Target port sharing

The 7-series doe allow target port LUN masking.

Host splitting

This can be done if the Multipathing Drivers are compatible.

Controller splitting

The controller may be shared with other hosts, provided svc has sole access to the LUNs presented to it as mdisks.

Configuration settings for 7-Series storage system

There are little if few settings configurable on the 7-Series, it is designed for
simple and intuitive configuration.

N.B. - Volume Set Addressing Host option is not supported or to be used.

Quorum disks on 7_Series

Quorum is not supported on the 7-Series. SVC requires SCSI-2 Quorum disk support which is not available on the Violin.

To maintain availability for the cluster, quorum must be provided on a separate disk subsystem which supports SVC quorum.

Clearing SCSI reservations and registrations

This option is not available on the browser or cli.
Note; this should never be done, LUNs must be exclusive to SVC.

Copy functions for 7-Series storage system

The 7-Series replication and snapshot features are not supported via SVC.

Configuration Suggestions
For thin provisioning care must then be taken to monitor the available storage capacity on the controller if over-allocating.

Refer to the IBM svc infocenter and Redbooks for best practises.
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/STPVGU/welcome
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/portals/storage