Creating and mapping a new storage volume (LUN)

The IBM® Storage Enhancements for VMware vSphere Web Client allow you to create new volumes (LUNs) directly from the vSphere Web Client interface. These volumes can be used as storage devices in the vSphere environment.

About this task

Any created volume is mapped to either ESXi hosts, clusters, or datacenters, so that the virtual machines on these hosts, clusters, or datacenters would be able to save datastore information on that volume. The volume is created on a storage service, according to the service definitions from Spectrum Connect.

In addition to single volume creation, you can create multiple volumes simultaneously. If you choose this option, the created volumes are appended with differently numbered suffixes that are automatically generated by the system in consecutive order.

Important:

You can create volumes only on storage pools that have been attached to the relevant vCenter server on the Spectrum Connect side. For more information, see Managing integration with vSphere Web Client
The ESXi hosts and clusters to which you map the created volumes must be predefined on the storage system side. For more information, refer to your IBM storage system documentation.

Procedure

In vSphere Web Client, navigate to the relevant vCenter server and then to the specific IBM storage object (space, service or volume).
The IBM storage object and the relevant storage resources (pools) should already be associated with the vCenter server (see Viewing the IBM storage object information).

Select a storage object, and click Actions > IBM Storage > Create new IBM storage volume.

This image illustrates Create new IBM storage volume option. — Figure 1. Create new IBM storage volume option

The New Volume dialog box is displayed.

This image illustrates the New Volume dialog box. — Figure 2. New Volume wizard

Note: When you create a single volume, a LUN (logical unit number) is assigned to that volume, and you can later change the LUN assignment. If you create multiple volumes, LUNs (logical unit numbers) are automatically assigned to those volumes and cannot be modified later.

In the Volume Size text box, enter the size for the new volume.

Note: A storage resource with the largest amount of free space that is currently attached the service is automatically selected.
In the Volume Name text box, enter the name that you want to assign to the new volume.
If you want to create multiple volumes simultaneously: In the Number of Volumes text box, enter the number of volumes that you want to create simultaneously. The text box next to the Volume Name entry displays vol_{1} by default. The {1} represents the suffix value, and it must be kept as part of the volume name. You edit the volume name and also move the suffix value within the name (the {1} suffix does not have to be at the end of the volume name).

Figure 3. Creating multiple volumes
In the Storage Service text box, select a storage service, on which the volume will be created.

Figure 4. Selecting storage service

From Host Mapping, select the host(s), cluster(s), or datacenter(s) to which you want to map the new volume. You can click Custom to specify a custom mapping in the Custom Host Mapping dialog box and use the Search toolbar to locate a specific host.

This image illustrates selecting the hosts, clusters, or datacenters for LUN mapping. — Figure 5. Custom Host Mapping dialog box

Note: Any ESXi host that is connected to the storage system can be selected. Hosts that are not connected to the storage system are marked and a message notifies you about any connectivity problem. If you select a datacenter, its member clusters and hosts are automatically selected under it.

Important: You must map the volume to at least one ESXi host, cluster, or datacenter in order to enable vSphere management of the created volume.

If you are creating a single volume, you can select the LUN that should represent the new volume on the storage system, or keep the automatically selected LUN. The LUNs are automatically selected when creating multiple volumes.

This image illustrates selecting LUN — Figure 6. Selecting LUN

Note: After the volume is created, the specific LUN association cannot be changed, and the same number cannot be assigned to a different volume. The specific LUN can become available for reassignment only after its associated volume is deleted.

If you want to provision the volume in an existing consistency group, select the required group from the Consistency Group drop-down box.

Note: This step and steps 10 and 11 only apply to IBM FlashSystem® A9000 and IBM FlashSystem A9000R storage systems.

Figure 7. Selecting consistency group
If you want to provision the volume in a new consistency group, click the Create button.
Enter a name for the new consistency group and click OK.
The dialog box closes, and the consistency group name is displayed in the drop-down box, marked as new. Pay attention that the consistency group itself will be activated only after the volume is created.
Figure 8. New Volume dialog box with all fields filled out
Review the details of the new volume that is about to be created, and then click OK to confirm its creation as detailed.