Front cover
An Introduction to Storage
Provisioning
with Tivoli Provisioning Manager
and TotalStorage Productivity Center
Automate provisioning of SAN File
System
Simplify infrastructure
management
Eliminate human errors
Steve Strutt
ibm.com/redbooks
Redpaper
International Technical Support Organization
An Introduction to Storage Provisioning with Tivoli
Provisioning Manager and TotalStorage Productivity
Center
July 2005
Note: Before using this information and the product it supports, read the information in “Notices” on page v.
First Edition (July 2005)
This edition applies to Version 3, Release 1 of IBM Tivoli Provisioning Manager (product number 5724-I15),
Version 2 of IBM TotalStorage Productivity Center with Advanced Provisioning (product number 5608-UC0),
and Version 2, Release 2 Modification level 1 of IBM TotalStorage SAN File System (product number
5765-FS2).
© Copyright International Business Machines Corporation 2005. All rights reserved.
Note to U.S. Government Users Restricted Rights -- Use, duplication or disclosure restricted by GSA ADP Schedule
Contract with IBM Corp.
Contents
Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .v
Trademarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi
Chapter 1. An introduction to storage provisioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.1 Problems caused by human error . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2 Storage provisioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2.1 Automating complex tasks with Tivoli Provisioning Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2.2 Tivoli Provisioning Manager and TotalStorage Productivity Center . . . . . . . . . . . .
1
2
2
4
5
Chapter 2. Tivoli Provisioning Manager support for storage provisioning . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.1 Data center model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.1.1 Logical operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.1.2 Storage templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.1.3 Administrative interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.2 Representing the storage environment on TPM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.2.1 Representing Storage Managers in TPM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.2.2 Representing SAN Fabrics in TPM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.2.3 Representing Storage subsystems in TPM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.3 Specifying a server’s storage needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.3.1 Volume Container Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.3.2 Logical Volume Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.3.3 Disk Partition Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2.3.4 File System Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2.3.5 File system mount settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
2.3.6 Physical Volume Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
2.3.7 Multipath settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
2.4 Storage Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.4.1 Storage Manager operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
2.4.2 SAN Fabric operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2.4.3 Storage Pool operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
2.4.4 Storage Subsystem operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
2.4.5 Operating system operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.4.6 End-to-end storage provisioning operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Chapter 3. Provisioning Storage with Tivoli Provisioning Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.1 Storage visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.2 Performing storage operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.2.1 Add Storage To Host operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.2.2 Add Storage Volume To Host operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.2.3 Implicit execution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.3 Creating storage templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.4 Controlling user access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
55
Chapter 4. TotalStorage Productivity Center with Advanced Provisioning . . . . . . . . .
4.1 Value of TotalStorage Productivity Center with TPM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.2 TotalStorage Productivity Center logical operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3 Storage configuration discovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.4 Tracking environment changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
57
58
58
59
60
© Copyright IBM Corp. 2005. All rights reserved.
iii
Chapter 5. A storage provisioning solution for SAN File System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.1 An on demand storage environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.2 The SAN File System solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.2.1 SAN File System physical environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.2.2 Storage usage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.3 Storage provisioning to simplify volume management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.3.1 SAN File System automation tasks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.3.2 Modelling of SAN File System in TPM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
iv
61
62
63
63
64
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An Introduction to Storage Provisioning with Tivoli Provisioning Manager and TotalStorage Productivity Center
Notices
This information was developed for products and services offered in the U.S.A.
IBM may not offer the products, services, or features discussed in this document in other countries. Consult
your local IBM representative for information on the products and services currently available in your area. Any
reference to an IBM product, program, or service is not intended to state or imply that only that IBM product,
program, or service may be used. Any functionally equivalent product, program, or service that does not
infringe any IBM intellectual property right may be used instead. However, it is the user's responsibility to
evaluate and verify the operation of any non-IBM product, program, or service.
IBM may have patents or pending patent applications covering subject matter described in this document. The
furnishing of this document does not give you any license to these patents. You can send license inquiries, in
writing, to:
IBM Director of Licensing, IBM Corporation, North Castle Drive Armonk, NY 10504-1785 U.S.A.
The following paragraph does not apply to the United Kingdom or any other country where such provisions are
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PUBLICATION "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,
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This information could include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes are periodically made
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improvements and/or changes in the product(s) and/or the program(s) described in this publication at any time
without notice.
Any references in this information to non-IBM Web sites are provided for convenience only and do not in any
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materials for this IBM product and use of those Web sites is at your own risk.
IBM may use or distribute any of the information you supply in any way it believes appropriate without incurring
any obligation to you.
Information concerning non-IBM products was obtained from the suppliers of those products, their published
announcements or other publicly available sources. IBM has not tested those products and cannot confirm the
accuracy of performance, compatibility or any other claims related to non-IBM products. Questions on the
capabilities of non-IBM products should be addressed to the suppliers of those products.
This information contains examples of data and reports used in daily business operations. To illustrate them
as completely as possible, the examples include the names of individuals, companies, brands, and products.
All of these names are fictitious and any similarity to the names and addresses used by an actual business
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COPYRIGHT LICENSE:
This information contains sample application programs in source language, which illustrates programming
techniques on various operating platforms. You may copy, modify, and distribute these sample programs in
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programs conforming to the application programming interface for the operating platform for which the sample
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distribute these sample programs in any form without payment to IBM for the purposes of developing, using,
marketing, or distributing application programs conforming to IBM's application programming interfaces.
© Copyright IBM Corp. 2005. All rights reserved.
v
Trademarks
The following terms are trademarks of the International Business Machines Corporation in the United States,
other countries, or both:
AIX®
BladeCenter™
Enterprise Storage Server®
Eserver®
Eserver®
HACMP™
ibm.com®
IBM®
Redbooks (logo)
Redbooks™
Tivoli®
TotalStorage®
™
The following terms are trademarks of other companies:
Java and all Java-based trademarks and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun
Microsystems, Inc. in the United States, other countries, or both.
Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT, and the Windows logo are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the
United States, other countries, or both.
Intel, Intel Inside (logos), MMX, and Pentium are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United States, other
countries, or both.
UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the United States and other countries.
Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds in the United States, other countries, or both.
Other company, product, and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.
vi
An Introduction to Storage Provisioning with Tivoli Provisioning Manager and TotalStorage Productivity Center
1
Chapter 1.
An introduction to storage
provisioning
This paper is intended as an introduction to the subject of storage provisioning and is written
for anyone who needs to understand IBM®’s automated storage provisioning tools. IBM
storage provisioning solutions are based on Tivoli® Provisioning Manager (TPM) and IBM
TotalStorage® Productivity Center (TPC). This paper examines TPM’s support for storage
provisioning in detail and describes how it can be used standalone or combined with TPC to
create a comprehensive storage infrastructure management and provisioning solution.
It is assumed that the reader already has some familiarity with configuring SAN storage, so
the details of how to configure storage manually are not covered here. Much has already
been written about TPM, and the reader is directed to these materials for an in-depth
introduction to provisioning and orchestration. For more information see the IBM Redbooks™
Exploring Storage Management Efficiencies and Provisioning - Understanding IBM
TotalStorage Productivity Center and IBM TotalStorage Productivity Center with Advanced
Provisioning, SG24-6373, and Provisioning On Demand Introducing IBM Tivoli Intelligent
ThinkDynamic Orchestrator, SG24-8888.
To illustrate the power of automated storage provisioning, an example of a storage
provisioning solution written to manage an IBM TotalStorage SAN File System is used. This
shows how automated storage provisioning can simplify tasks, eliminate the chance of human
error, and reduce the time taken to provision servers with SAN attached storage.
© Copyright IBM Corp. 2005. All rights reserved.
1
1.1 Problems caused by human error
During December 2004, a large European commercial bank suffered two major server
outages during their busiest pre Christmas trading period due to human error while
configuring storage capacity. The problem was traced back to the bank’s documented
practices around configuring storage devices not being followed by an administrator. Had the
documented practices been followed while configuring the additional storage capacity, the
failures would not have occurred.
SAN storage environments are complex and require many skills and a good understanding of
the task being performed. Many storage arrays have limitations around the number of hosts
per adapter or LUNs per adapter. Additionally there are accepted rules around SAN zoning of
not mixing UNIX® and Windows® hosts in the same zones. As a consequence, over a
number of years, many organizations have developed policies and best practices that have
been adopted to avoid misconfiguration of storage subsystems and storage networks. These
should ensure that environments are configured correctly and avoid problems, but the
occasional human error can still occur.
In addition, manual storage provisioning can introduce undesirable delays and corresponding
dropoffs in service. The typical storage administrator has many demands on their time and
may not be able to immediately respond to an urgent (in the perspective of the client) storage
provisioning request.
Automated storage provisioning addresses these issues by enabling best practices to be
implemented through the idea of storage workflows. Workflows are reusable elements that
capture IT expert know-how, and represent the steps that must be followed in order to carry
out a particular operation. These are repeatable and eliminate the human element of the
process. This removes the possibility for error and allows for prompt and reliable execution, as
the workflows will consistently implement the rules and policies time after time.
1.2 Storage provisioning
Storage provisioning is the name given to all the tasks around the configuration of storage,
performed manually or via automation, as discussed here. Typically, storage provisioning of
SAN attached storage involves administrators in a significant number of relatively complex
tasks with little support from the devices and individual management tools. The assumption is
that the administrators are trained in each device and understand how to configure it. Also,
each storage device is configured in isolation, and several interfaces must be used to perform
the end-to-end task of, for example, adding a new file system on SAN attached storage to a
host. The three areas of servers, SAN switches, and subsystems that must be configured and
the generic tasks that have to be performed are shown in Figure 1-1 on page 3.
2
An Introduction to Storage Provisioning with Tivoli Provisioning Manager and TotalStorage Productivity Center
Server requiring SAN
attached storage
Volume Manager
And File system
updates
Host OS LUN
mapping updates
SAN
SAN
SAN Zone configuration
change
LUN masking assignments
for volumes
SAN Volume Controller
volumes
Figure 1-1 Storage provisioning tasks
The following list gives more details on the tasks that a storage administrator might have to
perform to add additional storage:
򐂰 Add a volume (storage subsystem).
–
–
–
–
–
–
Select storage subsystem.
Select or create new volume.
Select host HBA ports (WWNs).
Select subsystem controller ports (WWNs).
Map volume to controller ports.
Map volume to host HBA ports.
򐂰 Set paths (SAN fabric switches).
–
–
–
–
–
Determine if multiple paths are required.
Create or update zones.
Get active zone set.
Add zone to zone set.
Activate zone set.
򐂰 Set up replication (if necessary).
򐂰 Map the HBA LUNs to the operating system and file system.
򐂰 Update volume group and file system (host server).
– Add physical volume to volume group.
– Add physical volume to logical volume.
– Create or extend file system.
򐂰 Extend application to use additional space.
򐂰 Reconfigure backup.
As well as the task itself, input values are needed, which require a detailed knowledge of the
storage environment, such as the WWNs of HBAs in the hosts and subsystems, existing
zones, etc. Reference to additional tools or documentation detailing the last known
Chapter 1. An introduction to storage provisioning
3
configuration of the environment might be necessary to determine these values. Best practice
rules for maintaining the environment must be applied consistently; this is complex and
requires a significant amount of skill to ensure any documentation of the environment is kept
up to date.
On the positive side, each of these tasks is well defined and usually can be quite simply
automated through scripting. However, scripting the end-to-end operation is barely feasible
due to the number of input values and the number of tasks. Also, the script would be host,
switch, and subsystem specific, requiring rewrites if changes occur in the environment, and
also requiring different scripts for each variation. A solution to this problem is to automate the
process using workflow automation.
1.2.1 Automating complex tasks with Tivoli Provisioning Manager
IBM Tivoli Provisioning Manager (TPM) provides an environment on which IT tasks can be
automated, such as the provisioning and configuring of servers, operating systems,
middleware, applications, storage, and network devices. This is an end-to-end approach to
provisioning. When a server is installed in a data center, applications must be installed on it,
along with its required network connectivity to access other resources, as well as the storage
the applications will use. This comprehensive approach to provisioning is shown in
Figure 1-2.
Applications
Attach Storage
Operating
Systems
Security
Middleware
Configure
Networking
Hardware
Layer
Server Provisioning
Virtualization
Virtualization
Storage
Devices
Fabric
Storage Provisioning
Fabric / Network
Routers,
Switches, etc.
Security
Management
Applications
Security
Management
Applications
Protocols
Network Provisioning
Figure 1-2 End-to-end provisioning
This ability to perform and coordinate provisioning tasks across a range of components and
management disciplines makes TPM an ideal automation tool for performing file system and
volume management tasks and for the provisioning of SAN attached storage in general.
A clear benefit of using TPM to provision storage is that these tasks can be incorporated into
the wider server and application provisioning scenarios, significantly reducing the time and
administrative effort in delivering new applications and servers.
TPM’s storage provisioning capabilities utilize its workflow engine to automate and manage
the tasks associated with configuring storage. Provisioning of Network File System (NFS),
4
An Introduction to Storage Provisioning with Tivoli Provisioning Manager and TotalStorage Productivity Center
direct attached, and SAN attached storage is supported, along with management of volume
managers and file systems.
1.2.2 Tivoli Provisioning Manager and TotalStorage Productivity Center
Although TPM provides storage provisioning capabilities, it is not a storage management
solution. The IBM solution for storage management is IBM TotalStorage Productivity Center
(TPC), which is a comprehensive storage infrastructure management solution. TPC provides
heterogeneous device, fabric, and data management and reporting capabilities with
additional storage provisioning capabilities. These additional capabilities are provided by
combining TPM and TPC into a complete storage management and provisioning solution,
usually refered to as TPC with Advanced Provisioning. Table 1-1 shows the different roles in
which TPM and TPC might be used.
Table 1-1 Comparison of TPM and TPC
Attribute
Tivoli Provisioning Manager
TotalStorage Productivity Center
Product description
Data center solution with
automated storage provisioning
capabilities.
Complete storage management
solution with additional automated
storage provisioning capabilities
(through TPM)
Positioning (ITILa)
Release Managementb.
Availability Managementc
Capacity Managementd
User
Server administrator (typically)
deploying a new server.
Data center storage administrator
Device management
Basic—TPM automation packages
(workflows) comprise a tool kit that
can be customized to meet client
requirements.
Advanced—complete,
comprehensive out-of-the-box
solution for storage management
Device interfaces
Interfaces directly to supported
storage (Cisco, Brocade, McData)
using CLIs.
Exploits multiple standards-based
interfaces to provide
comprehensive management
(reporting and control) across
many vendors
Platform support
Limited to only platforms supported
with TPM automation packages.
Heterogeneous—supports multiple
devices and vendors
a. IT Infrastructure Library: A process-based methodology that is used by IT departments to ensure that they can deliver IT
services to end users in a controlled and disciplined way.
b. Release Management: The process of managing the rollout of new applications, servers, and infrastructure.
c. Availability Management: Includes planning, implementation, management, and optimization of IT services so that they can
be used where and when the business requires.
d. Ensures that sufficient IT infrastructure resources are available cost-effectively when needed.
TPM and TPC are targeted at different user groups within the data center. TPM’s audience is
IT infrastructure and server administrators who need to manage the roll-out of new
applications, servers, and infrastructure. TPC is aimed at storage administrators who manage
storage capacity. In their own areas they deliver best-of-breed functionality, integrating into a
single solution that addresses a broad range of management requirements while retaining
their own unique differentiating features.
TPM is a comprehensive storage provisioning solution, providing the infrastructure and
facilities to provision storage capacity. However, its out-of-the-box device and platform
support is limited in comparison with TPC. TPC extends TPM’s storage provisioning
capabilities to provide broad standards-based device support, with a richer set of device
Chapter 1. An introduction to storage provisioning
5
management capabilities and with the potential to make intelligent choices based on other
metrics such as subsystem and fabric performance. These differences become more
significant with the introduction of new storage arrays such as the IBM TotalStorage DS6000
and DS8000, where there is much greater choice over volume selection criteria, including
RAID array sizes, underlying disk volume sizes, etc. Later in this paper the use of TPC to
enhance the basic device management capabilities of TPM is looked at in more detail.
6
An Introduction to Storage Provisioning with Tivoli Provisioning Manager and TotalStorage Productivity Center
2
Chapter 2.
Tivoli Provisioning Manager
support for storage provisioning
The use of TPM for server and application provisioning is dealt with in detail in other
documents and its functionality will only be looked at briefly here. Our focus is on storage
provisioning, and only the elements relevant to this are covered.
TPM supports the provisioning of storage in a number of ways: Via its representation of the
storage environment, its storage-related device operations, the use of templates to provide a
policy-based approach to provisioning, and its administrative interface for provisioning
storage. Representing the data center’s resources and assets in TPM as an environment
model is the first step towards automation of the environment using workflows and device
operations. The environment model and device operations work together to enable TPM to
manage all aspects of a data center IT environment from servers and networks, to firewalls
and storage. An example of a simple physical storage environment represented in TPM is
shown in Figure 2-1 on page 8.
© Copyright IBM Corp. 2005. All rights reserved.
7
Figure 2-1 View of a simple storage environment on TPM
This figure shows the physical connections from a number of storage hosts via a Cisco 9509
switch to an IBM TotalStorage SAN Volume Controller (SVC). The model is a direct
representation of the physical environment, which is kept in synchronization with the real
environment. Some benefits of this approach are that it allows TPM to track the usage state
of resources and determine whether resources are reserved to meet future requirements or
currently available for use. It also allows the logical grouping of resources together into pools,
enabling automation to select the most appropriate resource to fulfil a requirement. In a later
section we show how TPC can be used to automatically populate the TPM model with
storage information.
8
An Introduction to Storage Provisioning with Tivoli Provisioning Manager and TotalStorage Productivity Center
2.1 Data center model
Representing the physical data center environment as a model within TPM enables it to
manage different types of devices from many vendors by abstracting the physical devices,
assets, and resources in the data center into generic classes of devices. The resulting data
center model (DCM) contains all the assets and resources of the data center, both physical
and logical, and their relationships and state. In TPM terminology these are logical devices,
which it understands how to manipulate. The IBM TotalStorage SAN Volume Controller
(SVC) and IBM TotalStorage Enterprise Storage Server® (ESS) are examples of storage
subsystems, of which the logical device in TPM is a storage subsystem. Operations are
performed against these logical devices (for example, a storage subsystem), and workflows
are written to use logical devices and hence are device independent. The same workflows
can be used against different devices of the same logical device type and do not require
rewriting if the environment changes or contains more than one device type.
Each device represented in the DCM is one of a number of logical device types modelled by
TPM (for example, storage subsystems, routers, firewalls, etc.). Logical assets and resources
comprised of a number of physical and logical components, such as monitoring applications
and SAN fabrics, are also represented by logical devices.
TPM defines four different logical device types for storage that represent the elements of a
storage environment. There are three device types related to the elements of a storage
environment that can be directly configured: SAN fabrics, storage subsystems, and
host-based volume managers and file systems (in TPM terminology, storage managers). The
fourth device type is a storage pool, which provides a logical grouping of storage subsystem
volumes. These logical devices and their relationships to the physical environment are shown
in Figure 2-2.
Storage
environment
File system,
Volume Manager
SAN
SAN
SAN Fabric,
SAN switches,
Connectivity
Fibre Adapters
Storage
Logical Devices
Storage
Manager
SAN Fabric
Storage
Subsystem
Storage
Subsystem
Volumes
Storage Pool
Figure 2-2 TPM logical storage devices
Chapter 2. Tivoli Provisioning Manager support for storage provisioning
9
The storage pool logical device is a grouping of storage subsystem volumes from one or
more subsystems. Rather than directing an operation to get a new storage volume at a single
specific subsystem, the operation can be performed against a pool of pre-existing storage
volumes from multiple subsystems. The use of pools also enables the concept of tiered
storage to be modelled in TPM.
The next section looks at how TPM uses these logical devices to manage real devices.
2.1.1 Logical operations
For each Logical Device type, TPM defines a number of Logical Device Operations (LDOs)
that can be performed against that type of idealized device. Using an example of a Storage
Subsystem, some of the defined operations are Create Storage Volume, Mask Volume to
Host, and Remove Storage Volume. Associated with each device or resource modelled in the
DCM by a logical device is a Device Driver, which is a package of workflows that implement
the LDOs for a specific vendors device. Figure 2-3 shows the approach that TPM takes to
supporting devices and resources through the use of logical devices, and how these translate
to the device-specific operations.
Data Centre Model
contains devices
‘Logical’ devices provide
abstraction from physical
devices
- Storage Subsystem
Devices
Logical Devices
Logical Operations are actions
that can be executed on the
logical device
- Create Storage Volume
- Remove Storage Volume
Logical Operations
Device Driver
A device, represented by a
logical device in the DCM is
associated with a Device Driver
to provide a set of capabilities
Workflows deliver
sequential transitions
Workflows
A package of workflows to
implement Logical Operations
for a device is a Device Driver
- e.g. ESS Device Driver
Transitions can be Java
plugins, other workflows,
simple commands etc..
Transitions
Workflow
Simple
Command
Java
Plugin
Figure 2-3 The TPM approach to device-specific support
Associated with TPM’s representation of a physical device or resource in the DCM as a
logical device is a Device Driver (also called a TPM automation package), which enables
TPM to perform device-specific actions against the real device or resource. As in the figure,
operations against an ESS storage subsystem represented as a logical device would execute
ESS-specific workflows from the ESS Device Driver. The workflows themselves are
comprised of transitions or steps. These can be other workflows, simple commands issued to
a device, or a Java™ plug-in to call a device API. Figure 2-4 on page 11 represents how an
LDO could be implemented and the flow.
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Execute
Logical Operation
Logical
Operation
Workflow
Device
Driver
Transition
Transition
Transition
Workflow
Simple
Command
Transition
Transition
Logical
Operation
Device
Driver
Java PlugIn
Simple
Command
Workflow
Transition
Transition
Java PlugIn
Data Centre
Simple
Command
Figure 2-4 Logical Device Operation implementation
A combination of the operation being executed and the Device Driver associated with the
logical device determines which device-specific workflow will be called to perform the
operation. This then unfolds into transition steps. Conditional branching can occur depending
on input parameters or information retrieved from the DCM about the environment. Actions on
the physical devices are performed through Java plug-ins, which act on device APIs or simple
commands executed on a host or a device using Telnet or SSH1.
Interaction with devices is only handled through the device-specific workflows in the Device
Driver or automation packages, which must be implemented for each specific device or OS
platform that requires configuration in the storage environment. Interaction with a device is via
any of the external interfaces it supports, such as an API or command line interface.
At the host server, the Storage Manager LDOs provide support for configuration of the
storage via volume managers and file systems. On the storage network, SAN Fabric LDOs
manage the zone configuration to ensure secure access between the host and storage
subsystem. At the subsystem, Storage Subsystem LDOs create new volumes and configure
LUN masking to provide secure data access to storage volumes. Figure 2-5 on page 12
illustrates the implementation of the storage device drivers using command line interfaces.
1
SSH: Secure Shell, provides secure encrypted communications between two untrusted hosts over an insecure
network
Chapter 2. Tivoli Provisioning Manager support for storage provisioning
11
Logical Operation
execution
TPM
Server
Device Drivers
TPM Storage
Device Drivers
Workflows
Simple
Command
File system
And OS
configuration
Telnet/SSH
Zone
Configuration
Telnet
SAN
SAN
Telnet/SSH
Subsystem
Configuration
Figure 2-5 TPM storage logical operation implementation
Changes made to the physical environment by the operations, such as the mapping of
storage volumes to hosts, are reflected in the DCM to ensure that the DCM is an accurate
representation of the physical environment for input to future operations.
2.1.2 Storage templates
TPM implements a policy-based approach to storage provisioning. Rather than specifying the
input parameters to every operation, TPM uses templates of storage settings. Templates can
be defined once, and each operation will take its input values from the currently selected
template. Storage templates are specific to TPM’s support for storage and are used to define
the input parameters to the logical operations to perform operations against the physical
storage environment. This is represented in Figure 2-6 on page 13.
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Storage Template
Logical Operation
Environment
information
Environment
Changes
Updates
SAN
SAN
Physical
Environment
Data Centre Model
Figure 2-6 Storage templates
Policy information from the storage template and environment information from the DCM is
provided as input to operations. As changes are made to the physical environment, the
environment model is updated by the operation to reflect the new state.
Storage templates provide input parameters for all aspects of configuring storage for a host
server. These extend from the file system type and mount point, through to the volume size
on the subsystem and the adapter ports on the subsystem, through which a volume is
accessible. Templates can specify input parameters down to the last detail, such as volume
names and zone names, or it can be used to provide a template for a workflow to use as a
starting point, combining it with information retrieved from the DCM about the devices being
configured.
2.1.3 Administrative interface
To support the provisioning of storage capacity, the TPM user interface provides the ability to
visualize the storage configuration and perform provisioning actions. The data center model
is a live representation of the storage environment and can be visualized using the TPM
inventory view. Information can be presented in two ways, either via a detailed tabular listing
or a topology view. Users can initiate storage provisioning actions from these views.
The detailed view of storage components shows HBA configuration, volumes, file systems,
fibre connectivity, etc. The TPM inventory view, showing the detailed view of a server, is
shown in Figure 2-7 on page 14.
Chapter 2. Tivoli Provisioning Manager support for storage provisioning
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Figure 2-7 TPM administrative interface showing a host’s storage resources
The TPM inventory view is selected in the left hand pane, using the View tab. This gives
access to the inventory of all the devices represented in TPM. When a device is selected it is
shown in the right-hand pane, in a number of formats. For storage there are two
representations of the storage environment. The previous figure shows a detailed view,
where all the device components are displayed along with detailed configuration information.
Alternatively, there is a topology view or icon view, which shows the physical and logical
associations between components. Figure 2-8 on page 15 shows the storage icon view for
the same host server and its storage components, while Figure 2-1 on page 8 is an icon view
of the SAN topology.
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Figure 2-8 Host storage topology view
When using TPM, there are two ways of initiating storage provisioning actions. Actions can
be initiated manually via the administrative interface by users, or initiated automatically as
steps in server or application provisioning workflows. Individual granular provisioning steps or
more complex end-to-end tasks can be initiated. Individual actions, such as masking a
volume to a host, can be invoked from the inventory views of each device, or end-to-end
storage provisioning actions can be initiated from the server inventory view, as shown in
Figure 2-9.
Figure 2-9 TPM administrative interface showing storage provisioning operations
From a server’s Edit menu tab, several storage provisioning actions can be initiated, as well
as server provisioning tasks. These perform end-to-end provisioning tasks of adding and
Chapter 2. Tivoli Provisioning Manager support for storage provisioning
15
removing storage to and from a host. The Add Storage Volume to Host performs all the tasks
to make the volume visible at a host: Select a volume, mask it to a host, configure SAN
zoning, and OS configuration. The Add Storage to Host extends this to configure volume
managers and file systems to make the storage usable at the host without human
intervention. The Remove Storage/Storage Volume tasks deconfigure the file systems and
volume managers, and remove the storage. These end-to-end tasks are discussed in more
detail later in the paper. Other storage provisioning tasks can be performed from the
inventory views of servers, volumes, SAN fabrics, volume groups, and file systems.
2.2 Representing the storage environment on TPM
The four storage logical devices that enable a storage environment to be represented by
TPM. These are:
򐂰
򐂰
򐂰
򐂰
Storage Managers
SAN Fabrics
Storage Subsystems
Storage Pools
Using these four devices, the physical and logical components of a storage environment can
be represented in the DCM, and hence managed by TPM. Figure 2-10 describes the
relationship between the TPM storage devices and most of the physical and logical attributes
of the storage components that are modelled by them. A small number of attributes are
excluded to improve clarity. This model is very flexible for describing many variants of volume
managers, file systems, and storage subsystems.
TPM Object
S1
Host Server
VC1
VC2
Volume
Containers
Mount Points
Storage
Manager
PV3
FS2
FS1
FS3
File systems
LV2
LV1
LV3
Logical Volumes
PV1
PV4
Physical Volumes
PV2
Connections
SAN Switches
SAN
Fabric
Storage On Port
Storage
Subsystem
SV3
SV2
SV1
SV4
Storage Volumes
Storage Pool
Figure 2-10 TPM storage modelling using logical devices
The storage model is used to represent the current state of the real data center environment
within TPM. TPM can use this information directly without having to query the environment
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every time to understand what resources are available and the connectivity between
components. As TPM operations make changes to the physical storage configuration and the
use state of volumes (available, reserved, in-use), TPM updates its model to reflect the latest
configuration. This saves TPM from having to query the environment each time it performs an
operation. The storage devices defined to TPM are accessible via the TPM inventory view,
under the Storage heading, as shown in Figure 2-11.
Figure 2-11 Storage logical devices in the TPM inventory view
This TPM inventory view in the above figure shows the expanded Storage heading, showing
the four storage logical device types in the left-hand window pane, with the Storage
Subsystems inventory view selected. To display the relevant devices defined to TPM, select
the entry in the inventory view. This view also shows a fifth storage construct, Storage
Templates, from where the inventory of Storage Templates can be listed. We will now look at
each of the four logical devices in detail.
2.2.1 Representing Storage Managers in TPM
The Storage Manager logical device in TPM is used to model file systems and volume
managers and their constituent components such as volume groups, logical volumes,
physical volumes, and relationships on a host server. Figure 2-12 on page 18 shows a
detailed view of the Storage Manager device.
Chapter 2. Tivoli Provisioning Manager support for storage provisioning
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TPM Object
S1
VC1
S3
S2
Host Server
Volume
Container
Access Servers
Storage
Manager
Mount Points
PV3
FS2
File systems
LV2
Logical Volumes
PV2
Physical Volumes
Figure 2-12 Detailed view of the Storage Manager logical device
The Storage Manager represents both the file system manager and volume manager
components on a host (these are not represented separately in TPM). Within the Storage
Manager are defined the TPM Volume Containers; in a file system such as JFS on AIX®,
these are the Volume Groups. Within the Volume Container, the Physical Volumes are
defined into that container (group) and the Logical Volumes built from the Physical Volumes
using the volume manager software. Then the file systems are layered on top of the Logical
Volumes by the file system software.
The model also includes the concept of Access Servers. These allow TPM to represent other
servers, which might also be configured for access to the same file system, and logical and
physical volumes. This would be the case with clustered file systems or a file system
configured for failover with MSCS on Windows or HACMP™ on AIX.
Figure 2-13 shows the TPM inventory view of all the Storage Managers defined for servers
managed by TPM. There is one entry here for each host with a volume manager/file system
managed by TPM.
Figure 2-13 Storage Manager inventory view
The figure shows the volume group defined for this server, vg1. The name used for the
Storage Manager definition on a server is the same for each host with the same type of file
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system and volume manager, for example, AIX_LVM for all AIX hosts. This facilitates the use
of Storage Templates to provide policy-based provisioning. When provisioning actions are
performed, the Storage Manager name is used to select only the templates that are
appropriate to a host and specify the same Storage Manager.
Figure 2-14 shows the corresponding host view of a Storage Manager for host ibmp660-1.
Figure 2-14 Host view of a Storage Manager definition
Selecting a Storage Manager shows the volume containers (volume groups) defined under it,
as in Figure 2-15.
Figure 2-15 Volume Containers defined under a Storage Manager
Chapter 2. Tivoli Provisioning Manager support for storage provisioning
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Under each Storage Manager is the list of Volume Containers (Volume Groups) that are
managed by TPM. Drilling down into a Volume Container shows the Logical and Physical
Volumes, and File Systems on the host server managed in this volume container. An
example is shown in Figure 2-16.
Figure 2-16 Host view of a Volume Container
The Logical Volumes represented here are created by TPM logical operations against the
Volume Manager on a host. Physical Volumes are created on a host when a storage volume
is masked from the storage subsystem to the host server and the OS device mapping has
been completed. The Physical Volume must be associated with a Volume Container before it
is shown by TPM in the Volume Container (volume group), as in Figure 2-26 on page 27.
2.2.2 Representing SAN Fabrics in TPM
TPM provides comprehensive support for representing SAN fabrics. Each item in the SAN
has effective coverage. The essential point is that this directly represents the physical
environment and the fibre connectivity between hosts, storage devices, and SAN switches.
The model is shown in Figure 2-17 on page 21. There are four physical elements: Servers,
SAN switches, storage subsystems, and the connections between them. The logical
configuration of zone sets and zones is also represented.
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TPM Object
Server
Interface Cards (HBAs)
Ports
Physical Connections
ZoneSet
Zones
WWNS
1
2
3
4
Ports
5
6
7
8
Interface Cards
SAN Switches
SAN Fabrics
SAN
SV3
SV2
SV1
Storage Subsystem
Figure 2-17 SAN Fabric model in TPM
The figure shows all the elements of TPM’s SAN Fabric model with a single SAN containing
two fabrics. The server and storage subsystem have ports connected to both fabrics in a dual
path configuration.
Servers
Host Bus Adapters (HBAs) in a server are modelled as interface cards, with a number of
ports. Figure 2-18 on page 22 is an example of the TPM representation of a host with one
HBA with two ports. On a port, the WWN of the port is defined, along with its physical
connection to a switch and any zones that the port is defined in. The information recorded
about host SAN connectivity is essential for automatically performing SAN zoning operations,
as it enables the SAN Fabrics the host is connected to, to be determined. Furthermore, it
determines the SAN Fabrics at which zoning operations need to be directed for this host.
Chapter 2. Tivoli Provisioning Manager support for storage provisioning
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Figure 2-18 Host fibre adapters
Storage subsystems
SAN connectivity for storage subsystems is represented similarly to host servers with
interface cards and ports. Figure 2-19 on page 23 shows an SVC with four HBAs connected
to two Cisco 9509 switches.
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Figure 2-19 Storage subsystem view, HBA definitions
Switches
To support modelling of different types of SAN switches, a switch contains a number of
interface cards, with each card containing a number of ports. This enables TPM to model both
switches with a fixed number of ports (single card), as well as director class switches, which
have a number of card bays containing cards with varying numbers of ports.
Figure 2-20 shows a typical SAN fabric defined in TPM. The core of this fabric is a Cisco 9509
director, with a Cisco 9140 edge switch.
Figure 2-20 SAN Fabric view of switches and storage subsystems
The left-hand pane shows that two fabrics were defined: Fabric1 and Fabric2. These
represent the two fabrics that provide a fully redundant dual path configuration for disk
access.
Chapter 2. Tivoli Provisioning Manager support for storage provisioning
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In the properties for Fabric1, the World Wide Name field is used by TPM to identify the
principal switch in the fabric through which it will perform zoning operations. The same WWN
must also be defined on the principal switch. This name is largely symbolic within TPM—it is
only used to locate the principal switch in the fabric through which zoning operations are
performed, and does not have to be the real fabric WWN. A detailed view of a switch is shown
in Figure 2-21—its World Wide Name attribute being the same as for the SAN fabric.
Figure 2-21 SAN switch view
Back in Figure 2-20 on page 23, Active Zone Set is the name of the Active Zone Set in this
fabric. With the TPM workflows for switch management from the Orchestration and
Provisioning Automation Library (OPAL2), this is the Zone Set against which zoning actions
are performed. When using TPC for switch management, TPC can automatically determine
and update the currently active zoneset.
Visualizing SAN Fabric connectivity
As well as the detailed switch device views showing the switch ports, the overall fabric
connectivity can be visualized. Select the View menu item to show the switch environment on
a topology icon view, showing the connections between hosts, the switch, and connected
subsystems. The icon view is shown in Figure 2-22 on page 25.
2
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An Introduction to Storage Provisioning with Tivoli Provisioning Manager and TotalStorage Productivity Center
Figure 2-22 SAN switch icon view
The icon view is currently in effect, as this menu item is grayed out on the View tab. This
shows all the hosts and storage devices connect to the switch 9509-1.
2.2.3 Representing Storage subsystems in TPM
Physical storage in storage arrays in TPM is represented by two logical devices: Storage
Subsystems, and also a logical grouping of storage volumes by type and capability into
Storage Pools. The two devices are shown in Figure 2-23.
Ports
Interface Cards
Storage On Port
Storage
Subsystem
SV3
SV2
Pool 1
Storage Pools
SV1
SV4
Storage Volumes
Pool 2
Pool 3
SV5
SV6
SV7
SV4
Figure 2-23 Storage Subsystem and Storage Pool logical devices
Storage Subsystems
Storage Subsystems are modelled similarly to servers with interface cards and ports defining
the HBAs on the subsystem. An example is shown in Figure 2-24 on page 26.
Chapter 2. Tivoli Provisioning Manager support for storage provisioning
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Figure 2-24 A Storage Subsystem represented in TPM
The volumes created on the subsystem are shown. Within TPM these are known as Storage
Volumes. When a volume is mapped to a host port, this association is represented in the
Fibre Channel Port field. Some array types require that storage volumes are mapped to
specific adapters on the subsystem for access by host servers. This mapping is known as the
Fibre Adapter Port mapping (sometimes abbreviated to FA Port in TPM). The TPM
terminology for this is Storage On Port and is used to support arrays that map volumes to
specific subsystem adapters (for example, EMC and HP arrays). During workflow execution,
this mapping can be used to determine which subsystem adapter should be zoned to a host
to give it access to a storage volume. This mapping is also represented in this view by an
entry in the Fibre Channel Port field. This is not shown in the figure, as the array represented
does not require it.
In the figure, there is a field for the ANSI T10 ID. This can be used to uniquely identify a
storage subsystem. T10 is the definition of the SCSI standard by the America National
Standards Institute (ANSI) and is the serial number of the storage subsystem. Specification of
this is not required in TPM.
Storage Pools
Storage Pools are used to group volumes of a similar type, that is, all RAID5 volumes, or all
RAID1 volumes or pools of tiered storage. The use of pools makes it easier to select volumes
of a particular type without having to specify all the detailed parameters such as RAID level or
volume type. Another use for storage pools is to implement the concept of volume
reservation. When there is a known future requirement for significant quantities of storage,
the volumes could be temporarily allocated to a reservation pool or pools until they are
required.
When a volume is created in TPM on the storage subsystem, it can also be assigned to a
storage pool. Alternatively, if volumes on the storage subsystem are pre-created outside of
TPM, they can be defined into the pools to make volume selection a simpler task in a
workflow.
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Storage Pools in TPM can also be referred to as Storage Allocation Pools. Similarly, the
volumes within a pool are sometimes referred to as Storage Allocation Pool Elements
(SAPEs). The TPM Storage Pool inventory list is shown in Figure 2-25. In this example the
pool names used are the SVC managed disk group names. The naming convention includes
the RAID level and the volume size of the managed disks.
Figure 2-25 Storage Pool inventory
Figure 2-26 shows a list of volumes in Storage Pool F1_36_R5. A volume’s capabilities are
also shown, indicating RAID level and the subsystem it exists in. The State/Assignment field
indicates if a volume is Available for use, In Use (mapped to a host), Assigned (LUN masked
to a host, but not yet mapped), Reserved (being used by an executing workflow), or Unknown.
The use of volume states helps to determine the availability of volumes to satisfy requests for
additional volumes.
Figure 2-26 Volumes in a Storage Pool
The pool name reflects the type of disk storage in the pool; as this is a pool of SVC volumes,
the name reflects that the backing storage is 36-GB volumes in a RAID 5 configuration.
2.3 Specifying a server’s storage needs
TPM uses a policy-based approach to storage provisioning. Instead of an administrator
specifying the input parameters to every operation, TPM uses Storage Templates that can be
reused. A single template can be defined for a group of application servers and the same
storage configuration will automatically be used for each server. This approach of using
templates ensures that a consistent naming convention is enforced and that all server
components of an application are configured the same.
Chapter 2. Tivoli Provisioning Manager support for storage provisioning
27
Within a storage template TPM implements settings for:
򐂰
򐂰
򐂰
򐂰
򐂰
򐂰
򐂰
򐂰
Volume Containers (Volume Group)
Physical Volumes
Disk Partitions
Logical Volumes
File Systems
File System Mount Points
Data Paths
Multipath Software
The settings are used as input to the Logical Device Operations and the workflows that
implement them. Though the settings define values, the workflow implementations are free to
use the values passed, modify them, or determine their own based on best practices coded
into the workflows. A typical usage might be to pass the prefix for a SAN fabric zone name,
and the workflow determines the unique full name of the zone based on the host being zoned
and the prefix.
Figure 2-27 is an example of the different storage settings that can be specified.
Figure 2-27 An example storage template
The logical and physical volume names to be used and the volume sizes and types can be
defined. Using templates in this fashion ensures that all servers added to the cluster are
configured by TPM with the same storage configuration.
Settings form a hierarchical structure under the Volume Container settings, dividing into
settings related to the physical storage and the logical storage environments. Physical
environment settings, including volume size, type, and storage subsystem are grouped under
the Physical Volume settings. Logical storage settings, such as file system type, capacity,
and block sizes are grouped under the Logical Volume settings. We will look at each of these
settings in more detail.
2.3.1 Volume Container Settings
The Volume Container settings are used as a template to create new Volume Containers
(Volume Groups) for servers in the application cluster. An example is shown in Figure 2-28 on
page 29.
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Figure 2-28 Volume Container Settings
The Storage Manager field in the Volume Container settings defines which Storage
Managers the volume container is eligible to be created under, and hence which hosts this
template can be used on, based on a host’s Storage Manager definition. The field also
defines the Physical Partition size to be used by the volume manager for the volumes. The
settings for the Physical and Logical Volumes, and File Systems that will be created within the
container are under each Volume Container Settings object.
2.3.2 Logical Volume Settings
The Logical Volume Settings are provided as input for the volume manager on the host to
create new logical volumes. An example is shown in Figure 2-29.
Figure 2-29 Logical Volume Settings
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29
At a logical level, these define how the volume manager will configure and carve up physical
volumes to make logical volumes. If the volume manager supports capabilities such as
software RAID, they can be specified here, though typically the volume type is more likely to
be of type simple or spanned. Simple implies that the logical volume exists on a single
physical volume only and spanned that it is made up of one or more physical volumes.
2.3.3 Disk Partition Settings
Disk partition settings, shown in Figure 2-30, are used to make the association between a
physical volume and the logical volumes that will be created on it. They also define how
physical volumes can be partitioned into smaller volumes for Intel®-based servers.
Figure 2-30 Disk Partition Settings
2.3.4 File System Settings
File system settings determine the type of file system to be created. Figure 2-31 on page 31
shows an example.
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Figure 2-31 File System Settings
All the required attributes of the file system are defined here.
2.3.5 File system mount settings
File system mount settings, shown in Figure 2-32, determine where the created file system
will be mounted.
Figure 2-32 File system mount settings
Chapter 2. Tivoli Provisioning Manager support for storage provisioning
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2.3.6 Physical Volume Settings
The physical volume settings are used by the Storage Subsystem and Storage Pool logical
operations as a template to select or create new Storage Volumes on a subsystem or in a
storage pool. An example is shown in Figure 2-33.
Figure 2-33 Physical Volume Settings
These policy parameters allow TPM to automatically select a volume from a storage pool, or
create a new volume on a subsystem meeting the specified RAID Level, Function Type, and
Consumable (minimum) size requirements. The Function Type is used for subsystems where
volumes are predefined and their usage is configured, such as EMC BCVs (Business
Continuance Volumes). The consumable size is the smallest size of volume that TPM will
use. When a volume is required it will either create a volume of the requested size or select
the smallest existing volume larger than the consumable size, which has the correct
attributes.
2.3.7 Multipath settings
The multipath settings enable use of the powerful concept of datapaths. These define the
explicit routes or paths between a host’s ports and a storage subsystems’ ports in the SAN
fabric. The settings contain all the attributes that allow zoning to be automatically set up
between a host and the storage subsystem, providing secure storage access. Figure 2-34 on
page 33 shows an example of multipath settings.
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Figure 2-34 Multipath settings
When fully specified, multipath settings can be used to determine the LUN ID at the host, the
zone t be used, and the subsystem fibre ports and the host HBA ports to be included in the
zone. All parameters relating to connectivity between the host and the storage subsystem are
defined in one place, taking an end-to-end view of this operation, rather than looking at it from
the perspective of each device that needs configuring (that is, the hosts, SAN switch, and
storage subsystem). The parameters passed can be used directly by the zoning workflows, or
if a workflow determines, more appropriate values can take precedence.
2.4 Storage Operations
As well as modelling the storage environment and a server’s storage needs, TPM implements
a set of storage-related Logical Device Operations, which act on the physical storage
environment and update the model within TPM to reflect these changes. These operations
are grouped by the Logical Device type they operate on:
򐂰 Storage Manager
Add/remove file system, logical volume, physical volume, volume container.
򐂰 Storage Subsystem
Create/delete storage volume, mask/unmask storage volume.
Chapter 2. Tivoli Provisioning Manager support for storage provisioning
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򐂰 Storage Pool
Create/delete storage volume in pool, mask/unmask storage volume.
򐂰 SAN Switch
Create/delete zone, add/remove WWN/Port To/from Zone.
򐂰 Operating System
Create physical disk, create SAN disk, delete physical disk.
Before these operations can be used, the device drivers or automation packages that
implement them have to be created for the specific switch, subsystem, volume manager, and
file system. A number of examples of TPM and TPC device drivers that implement these
operations for different platforms, switches, and storage subsystems can be found on OPAL.
Most operations are extremely granular and perform only a single specific task, such as
creating a storage volume or adding a SAN zone member. Usable workflows are then built up
from these smaller building block elements. This provides great flexibility and enables TPM to
be customized to meet a wide variety of requirements, and implement the best practices
related to specific environments; however, building a storage provisioning solution from
scratch using just these basic building blocks would be extremely time consuming.
In addition to providing the basic building blocks, TPM also provides operations that represent
end-to-end storage provisioning tasks such as creating file systems from scratch, adding
volumes to hosts, and extending file systems. These encapsulate all the sub-operations
required to perform the request task, such as creating a volume, then mapping it to the host,
and finally creating a file system on the new volume. These operations also exploit the
Storage Template approach to policy-based provisioning. The templates provide all the
necessary parameters required to perform the end-to-end operations. An example of one of
these operations is looked at in more detail later.
2.4.1 Storage Manager operations
Figure 2-35 on page 35 shows the Storage Manager operations that can be performed in
TPM. These relate to file system and Volume Manager tasks. The function of most operations
is evident from their names, although a few require further explanation.
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An Introduction to Storage Provisioning with Tivoli Provisioning Manager and TotalStorage Productivity Center
Figure 2-35 Storage Manager operations
Most operations are extremely granular and perform only the single specific task as implied
by the Logical Device Operation’s (LDO’s) name. The AddStorageToHost and
RemoveStorageFromHost operations are examples of more complex operations discussed
previously, which can perform end-to-end configuration of storage to and from hosts. This
includes zoning, creation of storage volumes on the subsystem, LUN masking, volume
manager, and file system operations. An implementation of the AddStorageToHost operation
is looked at in 2.4.6, “End-to-end storage provisioning operations” on page 38.
2.4.2 SAN Fabric operations
Figure 2-36 shows the SAN Fabric operations that can be performed in TPM.
Figure 2-36 SAN Fabric operations
These include creating and deleting new zones, and adding and removing members from
zones. Here the capabilities of TPM as a provisioning tool are focusing on the routine
Chapter 2. Tivoli Provisioning Manager support for storage provisioning
35
day-to-day tasks performed in a storage environment to provision storage. Tools such as
TPC are required to provide in-depth management functionality.
2.4.3 Storage Pool operations
Storage Pools offer a way to pool storage capacity. This can be within a single storage
subsystem or across several storage subsystems, and enables volume selection from any of
the subsystems that have volumes in the pool. This enables volumes to be grouped by type,
and also the creation of larger volume pools than would be possible by grouping volumes
from a single storage subsystem. Storage Pools do not implement operations against specific
volumes, such as masking and mapping, as these are performed on the subsystem where
the volume resides. Supported operations relate to volume selection from the pool, and
creation and deletion of volumes in the pool. These operations are interchangeable with the
same Storage Subsystem operations. The three pool-specific operations are shown in
Figure 2-37.
Figure 2-37 Storage Pool operations
The use of storage pools makes it easier to model tiered storage within TPM and also
accommodate the concept of volume reservation for specific future requirements. The
Storage Pool GetStorageVolumes LDO can search the entire pool for a volume meeting the
requirements rather than a single subsystem, as is the case for the Storage Subsystem
implementation of the GetStorageVolumes LDO. Once a volume has been created and
selected, subsequent operations are performed by the Storage Subsystem LDOs.
2.4.4 Storage Subsystem operations
Figure 2-38 on page 37 shows the Storage Subsystem operations that can be performed in
TPM.
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An Introduction to Storage Provisioning with Tivoli Provisioning Manager and TotalStorage Productivity Center
Figure 2-38 Storage Subsystem operations
These operations include the same three operations supported for Storage Pools:
GetStorageVolume, CreateStorageVolume, and RemoveStorageVolume, and they can be
used interchangeably with the Storage Pool operations in workflows. The operations provide
effective management of many types and vendors of storage subsystems, and include
operations to support management of EMC arrays.
2.4.5 Operating system operations
In addition to the configuration of storage devices and file systems, a hosts' operating system
must also be configured to recognize that new storage volumes have been mapped to it.
Each operating system has its own methods and commands for discovering new devices and
assigning device names. Operating System Logical Operations therefore provide TPM with
the mechanism to support multiple OSs. The TPM operating system operations are shown in
Figure 2-39.
Figure 2-39 Operating System operations
Three of these operations relate to storage: CreateDASDPhysicalVolume,
CreateSANPhysicalVolume, and RemovePhysicalVolume. The first two relate to mapping of
internal disk and SAN disk to OS device names, and the latter allows removal of either type of
disk.
Chapter 2. Tivoli Provisioning Manager support for storage provisioning
37
Where the OS supports it, implementation of these operations allows storage to be mapped
to a host while the host is online, without requiring a reboot. This reduces the time taken to
provision new storage and avoids having to schedule a system outage to attach additional
storage capacity.
2.4.6 End-to-end storage provisioning operations
Most of the operations looked at so far can be considered as building blocks to create an
end-to-end storage provisioning solution. TPM also provides a number of Storage Manager
logical operations that allow workflows that implement end-to-end operations to be invoked.
These are:
򐂰
򐂰
򐂰
򐂰
򐂰
򐂰
AddStorageToHost
RemoveStorageFromHost
AddStorageVolumetoHost
RemoveStorageVolumeFromHost
ExtendFileSystem
ExtendLogicalVolume
These operations form the basis for a complete storage provisioning solution for standard file
systems and devices. Alternatively, custom storage provisioning solutions can be developed
using the building blocks provided by TPM. Chapter 5, “A storage provisioning solution for
SAN File System” on page 61, presents a custom storage provisioning solution developed to
manage an IBM TotalStorage SAN File System.
As an example of a complete end-to-end provisioning task, Example 2-1 shows a simplified
version of the AddStorageToHost operation.
Example 2-1 AddStorageToHost operation
StorageManager.AddStorageToHost (xx)
{
StorageManager.createVolumeContainter (xx)
StorageManager.addServerToVolumeContainer (xx)
for each PhysicalVolumeSettings in VolumeContainerSettings {
find MultiPathSettings
find StorageSubsystem/StoragePool from MultiPathSettings
StorageVolume = StorageSubsystem.getStorageVolume (xx) or
StoragePool.getStorageVolume (xx)
get MultiPathSettings
install MultiPathSettings.software
StorageManager.addStorageVolumeToHost (xx) {
for each DathPathSettings in MultiPathSettings {
find faPortId
find hbaPortId by
find fabricId
find zoneSetId
find zoneId
if (zoneId = null) {
fabric.createZone (fabricId, zoneName, cPortId[])
}
StorageSubsystem.mapStorageVolumeToFA (xx)
StorageSubsystem.lunMasking (xx)
OperatingSystem.createSANPhysicalVolume (xx)
}
}
for each PhysicalVolume {
StorageManager.addPhysicalVolumeToVolumeContainer
}
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An Introduction to Storage Provisioning with Tivoli Provisioning Manager and TotalStorage Productivity Center
}
for each LogicalVolumeSetting in VolumeContainerSettings {
StorageManager.createLogicalVolume (xx)
for each PhysicalVolume {
StorageManager.addPVToLV (xx)
}
}
}
StorageManager.createFS (xx)
}
The inputs to the workflow are the name of the server and the name of the storage template
to be used to create the volumes and file systems. A key subcomponent of this workflow is
the AddStorageVolumeToHost operation. This performs the volume-related tasks required,
and the AddStoragetoHost operation wraps this around with the file system and volume
manager tasks to create usable storage.
After creating the Volume Group on the host and the corresponding Volume Container object
in TPM, the Physical Volume Settings are used to determine the size and type of Storage
Volumes required. The AddStorageVolumeToHost operation is invoked to perform all the
tasks of creating and mapping the volume to the host. After creating the volume and mapping
it to the host OS, the physical volumes, logical volumes, and file system are created.
Chapter 2. Tivoli Provisioning Manager support for storage provisioning
39
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An Introduction to Storage Provisioning with Tivoli Provisioning Manager and TotalStorage Productivity Center
3
Chapter 3.
Provisioning Storage with Tivoli
Provisioning Manager
TPM provides a comprehensive environment within which users can provision storage. From
a single point, storage resources managed by TPM can be viewed and configured. This is all
controlled by role-based security, which provides a high level of control over what individual
administrators can see and do. Users are also assisted in performing storage operations by a
wizard-based approach to creating storage templates. These features are now looked at in
more detail.
© Copyright IBM Corp. 2005. All rights reserved.
41
3.1 Storage visualization
From the TPM inventory view, a host’s storage resources can be visualized in two ways:
Either as a detailed tabular style of storage components, or as a topology style icon view.
Figure 3-1 is an example of the icon view of a host's storage assets.
Figure 3-1 Icon view of host storage assets
This figure shows the logical and physical storage resources for host ibmp660-1. A single
HBA connects via two ports to port 2 on SAN switches 9509-1 and 9509-2. The physical
volumes on the host as well as the storage volumes mapped to the host are shown. Note that,
as the storage volumes are not explicitly mapped via an HBA on the subsystem, the
connectivity to the switch is not shown. The logical associations between the Storage
Volumes and Physical Volumes are also hidden in this view to improve clarity.
Hover the mouse over a physical volume or storage volume to show the logical relationships
between the resources, as shown in Figure 3-2 on page 43.
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An Introduction to Storage Provisioning with Tivoli Provisioning Manager and TotalStorage Productivity Center
Figure 3-2 Host storage asset relationships
The dotted lines in this figure show that storage volume AIX_vol3 in storage subsystem
SVC_TEC is mapped to HBA0:0 and HBA0:1 at the host, and is represented by physical
volume pv03 at the host. Right-click a resource to give more options such as the ability to
hide relationships or resources.
3.2 Performing storage operations
TPM can be used in a number of ways to provision storage: Provisioning actions can be
initiated either automatically as part of a server and application provisioning action, or
manually via the TPM user interface. Figure 3-3 on page 44 shows the provisioning actions
that can be performed directly from the TPM server inventory view.
Chapter 3. Provisioning Storage with Tivoli Provisioning Manager
43
Figure 3-3 Host storage provisioning operations
The figure shows the four storage operations that can be initiated from the server view, with
one highlighted. Two of these storage operations are looked at in detail here, “Add Storage
Volume To Host” and “Add Storage To Host.” Both of these operations use storage templates
as input. The Storage Manager task must be completed first to define the storage manager
type for the server before storage can be managed for the first time.
3.2.1 Add Storage To Host operation
Figure 3-4 shows the initial dialog for the operation Add Storage To Host with a storage
template selected. The eligible storage templates that can be selected to provide policy input
are determined by the Storage Manager defined on the host server. Only templates with the
same Storage Manager as the server are presented as options for input to the operation.
Figure 3-4 Add Storage To Host dialog window
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An Introduction to Storage Provisioning with Tivoli Provisioning Manager and TotalStorage Productivity Center
In the figure, only one storage template has been defined for Storage Manager (AIX_LVM),
and is presented in the dialog. Click OK to initiate the operation. Figure 3-5 shows the
message indicating that the operation had been initiated.
Figure 3-5 Add Storage To Host execution window
The operation has been initiated as request 10331. The status of completed and executing
workflows can be tracked from the Deployment Requests task in the TPM Configuration View,
as shown in Figure 3-6.
Figure 3-6 Add Storage To Host deployment window
The operation has completed successfully. Search options can be specified to show the
status of requests selected by status, name, time, or explicitly by deployment ID as shown
here.
3.2.2 Add Storage Volume To Host operation
Figure 3-7 on page 46 shows the initial Add Storage Volume To Host dialog. As the operation
only creates the physical storage elements and not Logical Volume Manager or file system
entities, the settings from any storage template definition for any Storage Manager can be
used. As only a subset of a storage template settings are required to create a new volume,
the individual settings to be used from the template can be selected.
Chapter 3. Provisioning Storage with Tivoli Provisioning Manager
45
Figure 3-7 Add Storage Volume To Host dialog window
Having specified the Storage Manager, the Volume Container Settings and Physical Volume
Settings in the templates determine the volume characteristics required. Eligible Storage
Subsystems and Volumes meeting these characteristics are presented and a volume
selected. Checking the execution status is the same as for the Add Storage To Host
operation.
3.2.3 Implicit execution
If storage operations are initiated from server or application provisioning workflows, an
administrator cannot explicitly specify the storage template—the storage template to be used
is determined implicitly. Each server application group can have a Server Template, which
defines the default storage template for a server. A Server Template is shown in Figure 3-8 on
page 47.
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An Introduction to Storage Provisioning with Tivoli Provisioning Manager and TotalStorage Productivity Center
Figure 3-8 Server template
The figure shows a server template with an associated storage template defined. Server
templates can be assigned to resource pools, application tiers, and individual systems in
TPM. They can be created using the Server Template heading via the TPM Application View
as in the previous figure. Figure 3-9 shows a server inventory view; the server template
associated with the server can be seen on the right-hand side of the server properties.
Figure 3-9 Server template associations
3.3 Creating storage templates
To guide users in creating new storage templates, TPM uses a wizard-based approach to
prompt for the correct values. From the TPM Tasks view, as shown in Figure 3-10 on page 48,
select the Create Storage Template task under the Storage Management heading. In step 1,
specify a name for the storage template.
Chapter 3. Provisioning Storage with Tivoli Provisioning Manager
47
Figure 3-10 Storage template wizard step 1
In step 2 (Figure 3-11) enter the Volume Container settings. One or more sets of settings can
be created.
Figure 3-11 Storage template wizard step 2
In step 3 (Figure 3-12 on page 49) define the Physical Volume settings. One or more sets of
settings can be created.
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An Introduction to Storage Provisioning with Tivoli Provisioning Manager and TotalStorage Productivity Center
Figure 3-12 Storage template wizard step 3
DASD settings relate to internal disks internal in the server. SAN settings relate to externally
attached storage, typically SAN attached.
In step 4 (Figure 3-13 on page 50) enter the Datapath/Multipath settings. One or more sets of
settings can be created.Typically there will be two datapath settings, one for each fabric the
server is connected to.
Chapter 3. Provisioning Storage with Tivoli Provisioning Manager
49
Figure 3-13 Storage template wizard step 4
In step 5 (Figure 3-14 on page 51) enter the Logical Volume settings. One or more sets of
settings can be created.
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An Introduction to Storage Provisioning with Tivoli Provisioning Manager and TotalStorage Productivity Center
Figure 3-14 Storage template wizard step 5
In step 6 (Figure 3-15 on page 52) enter the File System settings. One or more sets of
settings can be created for each Logical Volume.
Chapter 3. Provisioning Storage with Tivoli Provisioning Manager
51
Figure 3-15 Storage template wizard step 6
In step 7 (Figure 3-16 on page 53) enter the File System Mount settings for each file system.
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An Introduction to Storage Provisioning with Tivoli Provisioning Manager and TotalStorage Productivity Center
Figure 3-16 Storage template wizard step 7
In step 8 (Figure 3-17 on page 54) enter the Partition settings if required.
Chapter 3. Provisioning Storage with Tivoli Provisioning Manager
53
Figure 3-17 Storage template wizard step 8
Step 8 (Figure 3-18 on page 55) is a summary of all the settings configured and enables them
to be modified before completion. Click Finish to save the new storage template.
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An Introduction to Storage Provisioning with Tivoli Provisioning Manager and TotalStorage Productivity Center
Figure 3-18 Storage template wizard step 9
3.4 Controlling user access
TPM provides the ability to tightly control what an administrator can see and do, using
security roles and access permissions. Figure 3-19 on page 56 shows the default security
roles defined in TPM and the default rights of a Storage Operator.
Chapter 3. Provisioning Storage with Tivoli Provisioning Manager
55
Figure 3-19 TPM storage operator permissions
Access to individual views as well as individual devices within a view can be controlled. From
a storage provisioning perspective this enables all the various tasks and views related to
server and application provisioning to be removed from the storage administrator’s sight.
Application administrators could also be given the ability to provision additional storage
related to only the applications they are responsible for.
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An Introduction to Storage Provisioning with Tivoli Provisioning Manager and TotalStorage Productivity Center
4
Chapter 4.
TotalStorage Productivity Center
with Advanced Provisioning
As discussed earlier, while TPM provides storage provisioning capabilities, it is not a storage
infrastructure management tool. The IBM solution for enterprise storage management is IBM
TotalStorage Productivity Center (TPC), which is a comprehensive integrated storage
management solution. Though TPM can be used by itself to provision storage, when
combined with TPC it provides a complete storage management and provisioning solution.
Additionally, using TPC and TPM together provides an enhanced storage provisioning
capability through TPC's broader device support and richer device management features.
The additional benefit of using TPC for device management over direct management from
TPM is likely to increase when devices such as the IBM TotalStorage DS6000 and DS8000
are being used. TPC is in a position to exploit the unique differentiating features of these
devices and in the future use other volume selection criteria such as actual measured volume
performance via its performance reporting features.
© Copyright IBM Corp. 2005. All rights reserved.
57
4.1 Value of TotalStorage Productivity Center with TPM
By itself TPM provides a comprehensive workflow provisioning and management
environment for storage. The TotalStorage Productivity Center components, TPC for Disk,
and TPC for Fabric complement these capabilities to provide a complete solution. Table 4-1
illustrates the additional benefits that the complete solution provides.
Table 4-1 TPC versus TPM capabilities
Capability
TPM
TPC with TPM
Population of TPM Data Center
Model with information about
storage environment, storage
devices, switches, zones, HBAs,
and connectivity
Manual. Must be manually
Automated through discovery
determined and entered by hand.
and population through use of
TPC for Fabric and TPC for Disk
discovery capabilities
Management of drift between
modelled environment and
physical environment
Manual. Changes that are
Automated through TPC for Disk
performed outside of TPM must
be updated in the DCM manually.
and Fabric.
Disk subsystem support
Good - Device driver required for
each vendor and where model
ranges use different interfaces.
Drivers available for EMC and
ESS.
Best - Single device driver based
on SMI-S open standards.
Fabric switch support
Good - Cisco, Brocade, McData.
򐂰
TotalStorage, DS4x00,
DS6000, DS8000, SVC and
ESS
򐂰
Future any SMI-S compliant
device
Best - Single device driver based
on ANSI mgmt interfaces.
Brocade, Cisco, McData, Qlogic,
and CNT
Time to provision
Device operations
Good - Parsed response through
command line.
Best - Immediate response
Good - Only TPM defined logical
operations.
Best - TPM defined logical
through use of device APIs.
operations and a rich set of Java
plug-ins, which can exploit
device-specific features through
the SMI-S interface.
Some of these areas will now be looked at in more detail.
4.2 TotalStorage Productivity Center logical operations
TPC supports all of the storage logical operations as defined by TPM; however, it provides a
richer set of device management features, which can be exploited by the workflows
implementing these operations. These effect greater control over the storage environment
and allow more intelligent selection of storage subsystems and volumes. Figure 4-1 on
page 59 shows how TPC 2.1 integrates with TPM for device management.
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An Introduction to Storage Provisioning with Tivoli Provisioning Manager and TotalStorage Productivity Center
Logical Operation
execution
File system and
Volume Manager
configuration
TPM
Server
Zone
Configuration
SAN
SAN
API
Device Drivers
Workflows
TPC
Device Driver
Java PlugIn
API
TPC
Server
API
Subsystem
Configuration
Figure 4-1 TPC usage with TPM
TPC-specific device drivers are used for all the storage devices represented by SAN Fabric,
Storage Subsystem, and Storage Pool logical devices in the DCM. With TPM, the supplied
device drivers talk directly to the devices concerned using CLIs, while with the TPC drivers, a
Java plug-in is used to talk to the TPC for Disk and Fabric components over an API. This
opens up all of the management capabilities of TPC for Disk and Fabric to be used by
workflows, and enables all the devices supported by TPC for Disk and Fabric (disk arrays,
SAN switches) to be controlled by TPM for provisioning storage. This greatly increases the
number of storage subsystems that can be managed by TPM.
4.3 Storage configuration discovery
One of the most significant tasks when setting up a storage provisioning solution is the need
to discover the existing environment configuration. With TPM this means populating the DCM
with information about the existing storage configuration. The TPM GUI provides a
mechanism to enter device and configuration information; however, this can be a somewhat
long-winded task for a large environment. Alternatively, existing information can be
represented in XML and imported.
TPC provides a simpler and more dynamic solution by providing workflows to automatically
populate the DCM from TPC with fabric and storage subsystem information. Both TPC for
Disk and Fabric have automatic discovery mechanisms for determining the SAN fabric
topology and storage subsystem configuration and storing this in their databases. The
TPC-provided workflows can access these TPC databases via a set of Java plug-ins and
automatically update the DCM with a complete view of the storage environment.
This feature in its own right provides significant benefit to TPM and greatly simplifies the tasks
of configuring TPM as a storage provisioning solution. It also complements the TPM built-in
server and IP network auto discovery features.
Chapter 4. TotalStorage Productivity Center with Advanced Provisioning
59
4.4 Tracking environment changes
One of the challenges with any provisioning solution is to ensure that the model of the data
center environment used to track resource configuration is kept in synchronization with the
real state of the resources in the data center. Divergence between the model and the actual
resources is termed configuration drift and occurs when administrators make manual
changes to the environment that TPM is not aware of. The consequence of this is that
discrepancies between the model and the real data center can result in workflow failures, as
resources may not exist or be in the state that TPM expects them to be. The combined TPM
and TPC solution provides an answer to this challenge. In addition to providing device
configuration capabilities, the TPC components—TPC for Fabric and TPC for Disk—provide
near real-time tracking of storage device status and configuration. This provides a
mechanism for the combined solution though which the DCM model can be automatically
kept up to date in near real time. Without the use of TPC, changes have to be identified and
then manually updated in the DCM.
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5
Chapter 5.
A storage provisioning solution
for SAN File System
This chapter looks at an example of a TPM-based storage provisioning solution written to
manage an IBM TotalStorage SAN File System.
© Copyright IBM Corp. 2005. All rights reserved.
61
5.1 An on demand storage environment
To enable an IT server provider to provide on demand storage services, with pay-by-use
charging and low administrative overhead, a solution based on the IBM TotalStorage SAN
File System and Tivoli Provisioning Manager was developed and implemented. Key
requirements specified for the storage environment by the provider were:
򐂰
򐂰
򐂰
򐂰
򐂰
򐂰
Low administrative overhead and skill requirements
Automated management
Pooling and sharing of capacity between users
Sharing of data between hosts
Support for Web server orchestration
Heterogeneous platform support
The need was for a single storage infrastructure that would be managed simply, but also offer
great flexibility and low costs. Flexibility and pooling of storage were delivered by deploying a
SAN File System and IBM TotalStorage SAN Volume Controller (SVC). This provides a
common infrastructure with a single set of management tools for a heterogeneous
environment. Storage provisioning using IBM Tivoli Provisioning Manager (TPM) was
implemented to automate and simplify management of SAN File System’s SAN infrastructure
and support an orchestrated Web server environment. The use of provisioning reduced the
need for key, scarce storage skills and delivering low management costs. Figure 5-1 shows a
logical view of the solution, with applications sharing virtualized storage under control of the
IBM orchestration and provisioning tools.
Applications
SFS shared
file system
Virtualised
storage
Orchestration
and
Provisioning
CISCO MDS
Figure 5-1 On demand environment
The focus here is primarily on the storage provisioning solution developed for this
environment. The SAN File System architecture provisioning approach described here is also
applicable to other SAN File System environments, as the management tasks described are
common to any environment. This provisioning solution is a specific example of the power of
TPM to create a fully automated storage environment using storage provisioning.
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An Introduction to Storage Provisioning with Tivoli Provisioning Manager and TotalStorage Productivity Center
5.2 The SAN File System solution
The SAN File System environment and the associated provisioning solution support two user
communities:
򐂰 An on demand storage environment offering usage-based pricing and capacity on
demand for traditional applications and servers.
򐂰 A fully orchestrated application environment. Server and application orchestration
provides dynamic provisioning of IBM Sserver BladeCenter™ blade servers as
application loads demand. This additionally exploits SAN File System’s data sharing
capabilities for high-performance, scalable, and secure sharing of application and Web
site file storage between servers in the application clusters.
The use of a SAN File System enables the service provider to deliver competitively priced
storage service offerings to all its clients though the use of pooled disk storage and low file
system administration overheads. A key requirement was low management cost, and since
SAN technologies were new to the service provider, management of the SAN infrastructure
needed to be task-orientated by administrators not skilled in SAN or storage technologies.
The storage provisioning solution based on TPM provided the ability to manage the
environment simply by using a number of defined provisioning tasks, significantly reducing
the need for skilled administrators.
5.2.1 SAN File System physical environment
Figure 5-2 shows the environment as deployed with fibre channel attached SAN File System
clients sharing virtualized storage presented via an IBM TotalStorage SAN Volume Controller
(SVC). The SAN fabric is CISCO MDS 9509 directors with 9140 edge switches. Disk storage
is over 40TB of DS4300 with FC and SATA disk. Hosts are Intel HS20 blades in IBM
BladeCenter racks running Microsoft® Windows and RedHat Linux®, as well as standalone
HP Intel servers and Sun Solaris servers.
SAN FS clients
IBM BladeCenter
Management Infrastructure
Tivoli Enterprise
Tivoli Provisioning Manager
TotalStorage Productivity Centre for Fabric
TotalStorage Productivity Centre for Data
Tivoli Storage Manager
CISCO MDS
TotalStorage
SAN File System
TotalStorage
SAN Volume Controller
TotalStorage
3584 Tape Library
TotalStorage
DS4300 Disk Array
Figure 5-2 Physical SAN File System environment
Chapter 5. A storage provisioning solution for SAN File System
63
5.2.2 Storage usage
The two user communities share the SAN File System environment. All users exploit the
storage pooling and sharing of capacity managed through TPM.
Storage on demand environment
The on demand storage environment offers usage-based pricing and capacity on demand for
traditional applications and servers. The different application user groups exist in different
branches of the SAN File System file system structure, but share the same pools of SAN File
System disk storage, as shown in Figure 5-3.
Apache
MS
Exchange
MS
SQL
Server
MS IIS
User
Groups
SAN FS shared
file system
Shared
capacity
SAN FS
User Pool
Figure 5-3 Shared storage environment
The different user groups share the same SAN File System Pools, with all groups having
access to the total pool capacity. Free space is aggregated across all the users of the pool
and is available on demand for capacity growth. Users are only charged for their usage and
not for unused space. The cost of providing the free space buffer is spread across all users by
the cost model.
Orchestration environment
The orchestrated application environment offers dynamic provisioning of IBM Eserver
BladeCenter blade servers as application loads demand using orchestration and provisioning.
This is shown in Figure 5-4 on page 65.
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An Introduction to Storage Provisioning with Tivoli Provisioning Manager and TotalStorage Productivity Center
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157. 83.27. 28
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i
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Tokyo
Sydney
LA
RE O
Par si
Det r o
it
Houst on
A pp il ca ti on s
V iew M essages
V
ie w
A c t io n S
ta t u s
Ac
k n o w l e d g e Me s a g e
Cl ose Message
Hosted
web site
Load Balancer
Server orchestrated in
Application
Cluster
Web servers
(Apache etc)
Server orchestrated out
SAN FS shared
file system
Web site data
on shared
SAN FS storage
SAN FS
User Pool
Figure 5-4 Orchestrated Web serving using SAN File System
This exploits SAN File System’s data sharing capabilities, to share a single copy of Web site
data between multiple Web servers. As load increases on the Web site due to increased user
activity, additional servers are provisioned into the application cluster, spreading the workload
evenly across the new larger pool of servers. SAN File System provides for high-performance,
scalable, and secure sharing of the application and Web site file storage between servers in
the application clusters.
The ability of the storage provisioning solution to automatically add new SAN File System
clients on demand without manual intervention is essential to the ability to rapidly orchestrate
in new Web servers as utilization levels change. The new servers connect into and share the
existing single copy of the Web site data in the SAN File System environment.
5.3 Storage provisioning to simplify volume management
A SAN File System solution reduces and simplifies volume management tasks compared to
traditional file systems, as there are typically far fewer LUNs to manage. Provisioning can
further simplify administration by automating the remaining volume management tasks
required to add new clients or capacity. Another benefit is that administrators do not require
substantial SAN administration skills, which are scarce.
Volume management tasks for a SAN File System are only needed when new client servers
are added or additional storage capacity is required. The volume management tasks
associated with configuring SAN-attached storage in a SAN File System environment are
similar to those for server-centric file systems, including the Linux extended file system V3
(EXT3), windows NTFS, and the AIX journaled file system (JFS). Compared to these
server-centric file systems, these tasks are performed much less frequently, typically only
when all free space in a pool has been exhausted. Tasks include:
򐂰
򐂰
򐂰
򐂰
Loading and configuring the host bus adapter (HBA) driver
Loading and configuring multipathing software, such as IBM Subsystem Device Driver
Zoning the SAN
Masking the storage subsystem LUNs
Chapter 5. A storage provisioning solution for SAN File System
65
Figure 5-5 illustrates the actions automated by the storage provisioning solution.
New SAN FS client being
added to environment
Existing
SAN FS clients
Host OS device
mapping updates to
realise new volumes
at host
SAN FS
User Pool
SAN
SAN
SAN Zone configuration
change to include new server
Update LUN masking
assignments for all volumes
in SAN-FS user pool to allow
access from new server
SAN Volume Controller
Volumes
Figure 5-5 Provisioning tasks to introduce a new SAN File System client
When an administrator wants to add a new SAN File System client, the SAN zoning must be
updated to enable the new host to see the storage subsystem, by adding it to existing zones
or creating new zones. The subsystem LUN masking assignments for all the volumes in the
SFS user pool must be updated to enable the new client to see the subsystem volumes.
Finally, the HBA driver and multi-pathing software at the host must be reconfigured to map the
LUNs presented from the storage subsystem to the operating system and the SAN File
System client as physical disks.
While relatively simple for an administrator to perform, these tasks have to be carried out for
each volume in a SAN File System User Pool as new clients are added or for each server
using the pool when a new volume is added to the pool. The tasks also require coordination to
ensure successful execution and to guarantee that prerequisite tasks have been completed.
These SAN File System management tasks are ideal candidates for automation using
provisioning workflows, reducing administrative effort for day-to-day operation of a SAN
environment.
5.3.1 SAN File System automation tasks
These are the principal automated tasks that were created to configure and manage the SAN
File System environment:
򐂰
򐂰
򐂰
򐂰
򐂰
Addition and removal of SAN File System clients
Creation and deletion of SAN File System storage pools
Creation and deletion of SAN File System filesets
Addition and removal of client access to storage pools
Addition and removal of space in SAN File System storage pools
Performing these tasks by hand for a large environment could require a significant amount of
effort and has a high potential for human error. Instead, the SAN File System combined with
provisioning software enables the management tasks to be broken into repeatable steps,
automated through workflows. This helps reduce human error and simplifies the tasks of
66
An Introduction to Storage Provisioning with Tivoli Provisioning Manager and TotalStorage Productivity Center
administrators so that they do not need specialized skills to perform complex SAN
administrative tasks.
SAN File System workflows
Several workflows are used to manage the SAN File System environment and simplify
administration. These coordinate the configuration of the several infrastructure components.
The six basic SFS management workflows are:
򐂰 Add and remove hosts.
– SFS_AddHostToSFSPool
– SFS_RemoveHostFromSFSPool
򐂰 Add and remove pools.
– SFS_CreateSFSPool
• Create a new SFS user pool with no storage.
– SFS_DeleteSFSPool
• Delete an SFS User pool, removing all data.
򐂰 Add and remove storage space.
– SFS_AddSpaceToSFSPool
– SFS_RemoveVolumeFromPool
Some of the other workflows that are involved in the basic management workflows are:
򐂰 SFS_CheckClientStatus
– Check to see if a SAN File System client is active and talking to an MDS cluster.
򐂰 SFS_RediscoverLuns
– Performs SFS LUN rediscover to find new volumes after pool changes.
򐂰 SFS_CheckVolumeStatus
– Performs SFS query to check status of SFS volume.
5.3.2 Modelling of SAN File System in TPM
Central to enabling easy management of the SAN File System environment is the ability to
model the SAN File System configuration in the TPM DCM. Figure 5-6 on page 68 shows a
SAN File System user pool managed by TPM.
Chapter 5. A storage provisioning solution for SAN File System
67
Figure 5-6 SAN File System user pool managed by TPM
Within TPM the SAN File System user pool is represented by a TPM Volume Container.
Servers that have been zoned and masked to be able to see the volumes in the pool are
shown as access servers. The SAN File System volumes in the user pool are represented as
TPM Logical Volumes. To simplify management and enable SAN File System resources to be
easily tracked and identified, the volumes created on the SVC use the pool name as a prefix,
for example, Webpool_1.
Using the TPM DCM to model SAN File System in this fashion simplifies the task of
management, as there is a ready list of servers that use and have access to the pool and the
list of volumes in the pool. The server list is used as input to the AddSpaceToSFSPool
workflow to determine which servers require the newly created volume to be masked to them.
The volume list is used as input to the AddHostToSFSPool workflow, to determine the
storage volumes that must be masked to the new SFS client so it can access the pool.
68
An Introduction to Storage Provisioning with Tivoli Provisioning Manager and TotalStorage Productivity Center
Back cover
®
An Introduction to
Storage Provisioning
with Tivoli Provisioning Manager and
TotalStorage Productivity Center
Automate
provisioning of SAN
File System
Simplify
infrastructure
management
Eliminate human
errors
This IBM Redpaper is an introduction to storage
provisioning and is written for anyone who needs to
understand IBM automated storage provisioning tools. The
IBM storage provisioning solution is based on Tivoli
Provisioning Manager. This paper examines TPM’s support
for storage provisioning in detail and describe how it can be
used standalone or combined with IBM TotalStorage
Productivity Center to create a comprehensive storage
management and provisioning solution.
To illustrate the power of automated storage provisioning,
an example of a storage provisioning solution written to
manage an IBM TotalStorage SAN File System is used.
This shows how automated storage provisioning can
simplify tasks, eliminate the chance of human error, and
reduce the time taken to provision servers with SAN
attached storage.
Redpaper
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TECHNICAL
SUPPORT
ORGANIZATION
BUILDING TECHNICAL
INFORMATION BASED ON
PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE
IBM Redbooks are developed
by the IBM International
Technical Support
Organization. Experts from
IBM, Customers and Partners
from around the world create
timely technical information
based on realistic scenarios.
Specific recommendations
are provided to help you
implement IT solutions more
effectively in your
environment.
For more information:
ibm.com/redbooks