About virtualizing storage capacity – HP XP Array Manager Software User Manual
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About virtualizing storage capacity
Thin Provisioning (THP) provides virtual volumes to a host and allocates the actual capacity from a
THP pool when a host makes a write request. By using THP pools, you can allocate more capacity to
a host than that allowed by the actual physical configuration of the storage system.
THP pools provide the following advantages:
•
You can reduce system setup and operational costs.
•
You can use resources more efficiently.
•
You can distribute workload equally among volumes.
Smart Tiers (Smart) improves THP pools storage performance further by taking advantage of
performance differences between hardware tiers.
You can create virtual volumes (THP/Smart volumes) from physical volumes that are grouped into
THP/Smart pools. You can then allocate those virtual volumes to hosts.
In the illustration below, note that the volumes used to create the THP/Smart pool are called THP/
Smart pool volumes. The THP/Smart pool is then used to provide capacity as needed to allocated
THP/Smart volumes.
THP/Smart pools are created by Device Manager, which automatically selects volumes based on
user-specified conditions. Users can also directly specify parity groups to create a THP/Smart pool.
Users can also specify settings such as values for the usage rate threshold and reservation threshold.
If a Tiered Storage Manager license has been registered, user can use the Mobility tab to evaluate
and analyze the operation status that is related to a THP/Smart pool. When you delete an unnecessary
THP/Smart pool, THP/Smart volumes created from that pool are also deleted. For this reason, a
prerequisite to deleting a THP/Smart pool is that no THP/Smart volumes from that pool are allocated
to a host.
TIP:
When an HP XP7 is used, in the window that appears by clicking the System GUI link, you can
restore THP/Smart pools, complete SIMs, and export tier relocation log files. To start System GUI, in
the Resources tab, right-click Pools of the target storage system, and then either select System GUI
from the menu, or click the System GUI link that appears in the application pane.
Provisioning storage
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