HP XP Array Manager Software - Manual (Page 127)

By using HP XP7 Command View Advanced Edition software, you can fine-tune settings related to
the monitoring of Smart pools and data relocation depending on operating conditions.
You can configure a tiering policy in a Smart pool so that parity groups are assigned to specific tiers
(Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3) to take advantage of drive types, drive speeds, chip types, and RAID levels
to optimize your performance and capacity needs. Tiering allows data in a host volume to be spread
across multiple tiers (Tier 1 for high-speed, Tier 2 for next highest speed, and Tier 3 for additional
capacity independent of drive type or RAID level), which provides the flexibility to specify settings
that address your business conditions or the characteristics of certain applications. Tiering allows you
to optimize data placement, improve volume performance, and reduce costs through more effective
use of your resources.
Smart settings that can be specified using XP7 Command View AE include:
• Monitoring Smart pools and relocating data
Monitoring and data relocation can be configured to run automatically by specifying a time or
interval in advance, or you can manually monitor and relocate data as required. For an XP7, a
data relocation speed can be set. For example, using a slower relocation speed will reduce the
impact of relocation on other I/O requests.
• Specifying the buffer space for Smart pools
When Smart pools are created or edited, on each hardware tier you can specify a ratio corres-
ponding to the buffer space for new page assignment (an area reserved for increasing used ca-
pacity). Similarly, you can specify a ratio corresponding to the buffer space for tier relocation (a
working area reserved for the storage system to use when relocating data). However, be aware
that changing the default values might degrade performance.
• Applying a tiering policy and setting priority to Smart volumes
You can regulate tiering to balance performance and cost, such as by preventing more data than
is necessary from being placed in a fast hardware tier and thereby reducing management costs.
After these settings are configured, regularly review the status of the settings of that tiering policy
and the amount of capacity in use by each hardware tier to verify that resources are being appro-
priately allocated. Configuration settings can be changed any time if costs increase or performance
is lower than expected.
In a Smart pool, data with a high frequency of I/O operations is automatically preferentially
placed in a high-speed hardware tier. Configure the following settings to control data placement,
ensuring that important data is placed in a fast hardware tier, according to your business require-
ments.
• Apply a tiering policy
To ensure that data with high importance but with few I/O operations is placed in a hardware
tier that maintains a certain speed at all times, you can specify the target hardware tier. You
can also apply a tiering policy to Smart volumes that determines the capacity ratio of each
hardware tier, by defining such a policy in advance.
• Specify a new page assignment tier
When Smart volumes are created or allocated, specify which hardware tier the new page of
a Smart volume will be assigned with priority. Among the hardware tiers defined by a tiering
policy, specify High for an upper-level hardware tier, Middle for a medium-level hardware tier,
and Low for a low-level hardware tier.
• Set relocation priority
When Smart volumes are created or allocated, specify whether to prioritize relocation of the
data of the target Smart volumes.
• Editing a tier rank for an external Smart pool volume
User Guide 127