HP EVA Disk Array - Easy!

    In anticipation of the release of new models of P6000 EVA disk arrays, I want to show how simple and effective these arrays are in operation.

    The traditional field of application for HP P6000 arrays has been and remains virtualization, integration with Microsoft, Oracle, SAP and a wide range of business applications. The P6000 line is represented by two models: the P6300 EVA and the P6500 EVA. These storage systems are based on SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) technology and support small (SFF) and large (LFF) form factor disks of various capacities - from 146 GB to 3 TB.

    Unlike previous generations of Enterprise Virtual Array arrays, the P6000 EVA is equipped with both 8 Gb / s Fiber Channel ports and 10 Gb / s or 1 Gb / s Ethernet ports, which additionally allows you to connect servers using iSCSI and FCoE protocols.

    Why EVA?


    According to a study by the independent and well-known Edison Group, administration of the P6000 array takes up 50% percent less time and is 30% less complicated compared to similar systems. If you translate this into money, then the average savings will be about $ 13,000 per array per year.

    Command View Overview


    Command View - P6000 Array Management Software. For those who have not had time to get acquainted with EVA arrays, I suggest downloading the CV P6000 simulator from here . All the actions in this article were performed in a simulator, and they can be repeated at home.

    For the P6000, you can use the command line interface or scripts to manage the array, but for daily tasks it is more efficient and easier to use the GUI interface.

    To download the simulator, you need to register and get HP Passport (if you do not already have one).

    Next, you need to use the compmgmt.msc command to get to the computer management section and create the “CV” user with the password, the “HP Storage Admins” group on the local PC and make the CV user a member of the HP Storage Admins group.

    And finally, run the simulator using the “Start HP P6000 EVA Simulator” shortcut. All screenshots are clickable on. With the release of the new P6000 disk arrays, the Command View interface will not change dramatically, so when switching from one generation to another, you do not need to spend time and money on training employees. Moreover, the inclusion of new technologies in support of the array looks very transparent: for example, new SSD disks are represented by a new icon with a link to additional product information, all this inside the same navigation window on the disk shelf and the same drop-down list of the navigation tree. Thus, the logic of working with the new array has been preserved. The following indicators were included in the assessment of the Edison Group study: Provisioning ,









    Data Protection , Maintenance , Troubleshooting . Let's consider this list in more detail and what is included in it.

    Provisioning - all work with the array after installation:

    1. Create Disk Group
    2. Adding a host
    3. Creating a virtual disk (LUN)
    4. Presentation of the virtual disk to the host.
    5. Container creation

    The HP P6000 Command View software includes the free Thin Provisioning option , which helps reduce disk space requirements, the number of hard drives, and therefore reduces the cost of power and air conditioning for the server.

    Adding this option to Command View requires clicking only one button of the drop-down list when creating a virtual disk. Data Protection - all mechanisms that protect the data of the array. These mechanisms include: several controllers in the array, fault-tolerant I / O paths, remote replication and the creation of snapshots (read-only copy) and clones (writable copy).





    In HP EVA, each virtual disk can have its own snapshot policy. This makes configuring the entire repository more flexible. Maintenance and Configuration Changes Array maintenance involves a large number of operations. For example: updating the software, replacing a failed disk, adding disks and disk shelves, changing the configuration used, and removing snapshots. Software update occurs centrally, without stopping the operation of the entire array or its components. Array disks and shelves are also hot-plugged. The controllers operate in active-active mode, are duplicated with cache mirroring, the array does not have a single point of failure.









    Removing a snapshot in the P6000 is quite simple: in the Vdisk drop-down menu, the necessary snapshot is selected, which must first be untied from the assigned host. Monitoring and Troubleshooting - actions to determine the state and performance of an array. Command View management software provides monitoring and statistics collection, access to it is possible from the graphical interface, you can configure e-mail alerts. This feature (auto support) is enabled by default. Consider some of the most common tasks with disk arrays:











    1. Create a disk group and LUN




    We select the necessary array, in the drop-down menu select Disk Groups - Create Disk Group, select the name for the group, the protection setting and the number of disks (a multiple of 8 is recommended); if the volumes in the array are of the same speed, without the “fast” and “slow” ones, then it is recommended that you enter all the disks in the array into one disk group. Thus, the disk space in the array will be virtualized across all disks of the system, and we will get the maximum performance - IOPS for the disk group will be the sum of the IOPS of all disks in the group. After creating a disk group, we can see information about the disks, their location, update Firmware. Next, in the Virtual Disks section, create a LUN (Create Vdisk) with the necessary parameters.







    2. Presentation to the LUN host




    Add a host in the Hosts - Add host section. We select the necessary settings (in the video test WWNs pre-prepared by the system were used), the type of system, enter the IP address. In the disk properties in the Presentation tab, give the LUN to the host (Present).





    3. Create volume replication between arrays




    Consider the example of creating replication between arrays, the source will be the P6300 array, the receiver will be the P6500.

    It is necessary that a LUN be created on each array (without Thin Provisioning) with the necessary parameters.
    On the source Source array, the disk is added to the Data Replication group, the destination array, the source volume, the type of replication (synchronous, asynchronous basic, asynchronous extended), fault tolerance of the Target LUN, host access to the LUN, log size of the log are indicated here. After creating the replication group, we wait until the full copy is recorded from one array to another.

    4. Adding disks to a disk group




    After some time, there was a need to add disks to a disk group.

    After connecting the disks to the array, go to the Command View interface, select the disk group that needs more disk space and add the “Add disks” disks. The array is rebuilt and the added disk capacity is available for use.

    5. Creating snapshots




    In the Virtual Disks section, go to the LUN that needs to create a Snapshot. We select the name (the creation date is taken by default), the fault tolerance level, the container that will contain the snapshot (if necessary). The disk becomes a parent, and a snapshot appears in the directory below indicating the creation date, in the future it can be presented to the host. As part of this post, I tried to show how convenient it is to use P6000 arrays in everyday work. In the following, I want to demonstrate the integration of an EVA array with VMware and the creation of a cluster of virtual machines. Thanks for attention! Literature:








    1. P6000 Quickspecks ( http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/13904_div/13904_div.pdf )
    2. P6000 EVA Simulator ( https://h20392.www2.hp.com/portal/swdepot/displayProductInfo.do?productNumber=P6000EVASimulator )
    3. Best Practices P6000 ( https://secure.europe.hp.com/h41111/rfg_formprocessor/SWD_Installed_Base/pl/pl/pdf/TWP_4AA3-2641ENW.PDF )

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