Virtualizing storage capacity, Thp pool management functions, 29 thp pool management functions – HP XP Array Manager Software User Manual

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3.

Click Show Plan to review the plan and specify additional information, as appropriate:

• Verify the information that is displayed.
• Enter a name in Task Name.
• Specify when the task should run.

4.

Click Submit.

The plan is registered as a task.

5.

When the task completes, check the Storage Systems list to confirm that the external volumes are
mapped to the target storage system.

Virtualizing storage capacity

This module describes how to virtualize storage capacity.

About virtualizing storage capacity by creating THP pools

HP StorageWorks P9000 Thin Provisioning Software (THP) provides virtual volumes to a host and
allocates the actual capacity from a storage pool when a host makes a write request. By using Thin
Provisioning Software, you can allocate more capacity to a host than that allowed by the actual
physical configuration of the storage system.

Thin Provisioning Software provides the following advantages:

You can reduce system setup and operational costs.

You can use resources more efficiently.

You can distribute workload equally among volumes.

HP StorageWorks P9000 Smart Tiers Software (Smart) improves the Thin Provisioning Software storage
performance. If you create a pool that combines volumes with different cost performance, such as
combining higher cost, high-speed volumes (SSD or SAS) with inexpensive low-speed volumes (SATA),
Smart Tiers Software rearranges the volume load automatically. This rearrangement is performed
depending on the I/O load; high-load pages are allocated to high-speed volumes, and low-load
pages are allocated to low-speed volumes.

You can create virtual volumes (THP) from physical volumes that are grouped into a THP pool. You
can then allocate those virtual volumes to hosts.

The volumes used to create a THP pool are called THP pool volumes.

THP pool management functions

THP pool management covers the following operations:

Creating THP pools allows Device Manager to automatically select a volume and then create a
THP pool based on user-specified conditions. When creating a THP pool, users can specify threshold
values for excess usage rate and reservation rate. For Smart Tiers Software pools, users can specify
options related to re-arrangement. Users can directly specify an LDEV to create a THP pool. After
creating the THP pool, users can create a volume from the created THP pool, or allocate a THP
volume to a host by specifying a THP pool.

Expanding THP pools (converting from pool for Thin Provisioning Software to an Smart Tiers Soft-
ware pools) allows expansion of the THP pool increase of the pool capacity or change the pool
for Thin Provisioning Software in operation to Smart Tiers Software pools. Shrinking THP pools
allows shrinkage of the THP pool when the free capacity is too large compared to the used capacity
of the THP pool. Reclaiming unused zero pages for a THP pool releases unused capacity. If a THP

User Guide

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