Defining and attaching storage resources

After the storage systems and services are added, you can start defining resources on the systems.

Before you begin

Verify that the storage resource, which you intend to define and attach, will be compatible with the service in terms of space efficiency, compression mode or any other attribute defined for the service.

About this task

If no resources (pools) exist on the storage systems, you can define the resources and attach them to a service to make the physical storage available for theSpectrum Connect components and end users. You can attach several resources that belong to the same or different storage systems to a single service. However, a specific resource can be added to one service only.
Note: For VVol-enabled services, the minimum recommended storage resource size is 500 GiB.

Procedure

  1. On the Spaces/Storage Services pane, select the storage space from which you want to choose storage services.
    The available services that reside on the selected storage space are immediately displayed.
  2. Click on a service to which you want to attach a resource.
    The service color changes to blue to indicate selection.
  3. On the Storage Systems pane, right-click a storage system on which you want to define a new resource, and then select Add Resource.
    The Add New Resource dialog box is displayed.
    Figure 1. Add New Resource dialog box
    This image shows the Add New Resource dialog box.
  4. In the Add New Resource dialog box, enter configuration parameters for a new resource. See table below for details.
    Table 1. Storage resource parameters
    Parameter Description and values
    Name Alphanumeric string for storage resource identification. The name must not contain spaces. This is a mandatory field.
    Domain Management domain of the pool IBM FlashSystem A9000 and A9000R storage systems.

    Configuration considerations

    To use management domains, verify that:
    • Domains are already defined on your storage system.
    • Default credentials of a storage admin user are assigned to the domain.
    Parent Pool The name of the parent pool for the new resource.
    Size Storage resource size in GiB.
    Snapshot reserve Percentage of storage space on the service reserved for snapshots.
    Note: EasyTier-enabled parent pools defined on storage systems, running Spectrum Virtualize software, can be attached to storage services to create a compatible service. IBM EasyTier is a pool-level feature and it is transparent to Spectrum Connect. As a result, all volumes in the EasyTier-enabled service retain this capability.
  5. Click Add.
    The storage resource is created on the storage system and attached to the service. The resource color changes to blue to indicate the successful attachment.

    The resources defined on the system before the system was attached to Spectrum Connect, can be allocated to a service by selecting the service and clicking an unattached resource.

    A storage service provides indication for the allocated and used storage space.
    • Allocated – amount of storage space available on all pools connected to the service.
    • Used – amount of storage space used by all storage elements connected to the service (datastores, servers, etc).
    Important:
    • When attaching a resource to an over-provisioned service, verify that a storage system which hosts the pool has enough capacity to accommodate the service space requirements.
    • Datastores created on VVol-enabled services always display the meta and thick pools of its group pool to be 100% full. You can disregard this alert.
  6. You can display detailed information for all storage resources defined on a storage system by switching to the table view.
    The System Storage Resources table is displayed.
    Figure 2. Storage Resources table
    This image shows the System Storage Resources table.
    The table lists all storage resources defined on the storage system, including their sizes, free and used storage space, parent pool for storage systems that run IBM Spectrum Virtualize, and a service that the resource is attached to. When you click on a storage resource row to select it, you can complete the following:
    • Click the Attach/Delegate button to attach the storage resource to a previously selected storage service.
    • Click the Detach/Cancel Delegation button to detach the storage resource from a previously selected storage service.
    • Right-click and select Modify to resize the resource or remove it.
    • Right-click and select Delete button to delete child pools. This option does not exist for parent pools or DS8000® pools.
      Note: If you intend to use data-reduction (DR) pools, use this procedure to migrate a volume from a non-DR to a DR-enabled pool:
      1. In Spectrum Connect, add a DR-enabled storage resource to a storage system that supports this feature.
      2. Attach the new storage resource to a service.
      3. Use the addvdiskcopy CLI command with autodelete option to migrate a volume to the DR pool.
      4. Detach the non-DR storage resource from the service, then remove the resource.
  7. You can display detailed information for all storage resources attached to a service on a storage system by right-clicking the service on which you want zoom, and then selecting View Resources.
    The Service Storage Resources table is displayed.
    Figure 3. Service Storage Resources table
    This image shows the Service Storage Resources table.
    The table lists all storage resources attached to the storage service, including their sizes, free and used storage space and a system that the resource was created on. When you click on a storage resource row to select it, you can complete the following:
    • Click the Resource Detach button to detach the storage resource from a storage service.
    • Click the Resource Settings button to resize the resource or remove it.
    • Click the Remove button to delete child pools. This option is not functional for parent pools or DS8000 pools.