Storwize V7000 real-time compressed volumes with Symantec Veritas Storage Foundation Demonstrating IBM Storwize V7000 advanced storage efficiency in a Veritas Storage Foundation environment John Cooper IBM Systems and Technology Group ISV Enablement May 2012 Copyright IBM Corporation, 2012
Table of contents Abstract...1 Introduction...1 IBM Storwize V7000...1 Symantec Veritas Storage Foundation... 1 Prerequisites...1 Real-time Compression...2 Lab configuration...2 Creating and assigning compressed volumes...3 Converting existing volumes to compressed volumes...5 Compressed volume capacities explained...7 Compressed volumes and Veritas Storage Foundation...8 Real-time compressed volume use cases with Storage Foundation... 9 Summary...10 Resources...11 Trademarks and special notices...12 Storwize V7000 real-time compressed Volumes with Symantec Veritas Storage Foundation
Abstract This paper is intended to demonstrate how to increase storage efficiency by deploying real-time compressed volumes from an IBM Storwize V7000 disk system* using the Real-time Compression feature on a host using Symantec Veritas Storage Foundation. This paper is written for a technical audience, including server and storage administrators, but can have a broader appeal to IT managers looking for information about building optimized infrastructures. *Although this paper details the Real-time Compression feature on the IBM Storwize V7000 disk system, the procedures here are applicable to the family of IBM storage virtualization products at the latest 6.4.x codestream. At time of publishing, this additionally includes the IBM SAN Volume controller. Introduction The following components comprise the solution discussed in this paper. IBM Storwize V7000 External block storage for this solution is supported by the IBM Storwize V7000storage system from the IBM storage virtualization family, which supports block I/O for midrange customer environments. For details on the IBM Storwize V7000 storage system, go to: ibm.com/systems/storage/disk/storwize_v7000 Symantec Veritas Storage Foundation For integrated storage management, this solution uses the Veritas Storage Foundation 6.0 product. You can find details about this software at: www.symantec.com/storage-foundation Prerequisites Prior knowledge of storage management, including assignment of storage area network (SAN) volumes to a Linux host using the Fiber Channel (FC) protocol, familiarity with logical volume objects and the Veritas Storage Foundation tools, and recognizing the value of the latest storage optimization features such as thin provisioning can lend themselves to a better understanding of the topics discussed in this paper. It is assumed that you have a similar base configuration to best understand the task guidance provided in this technical reference. It is recommended that you have the following setup installed and configured: IBM Intel server hardware, with a Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system installed Symantec Veritas Storage Foundation 6.0 installed on the Linux host Storwize V7000 (latest 6.4.x code), provisioning block volumes to a Linux host One or more Veritas Storage Foundation disk groups, volumes, and Veritas Volume Manager (VxVM) file systems, using Storwize V7000 compressed volumes Veritas Operations Manager (VOM) 4.1 installation and the Thin Provisioning Reclamation add-on component, from which to manage Storage Foundation administrative tasks 1
Real-time Compression The IBM Real-time Compression feature, that allows for compressing volumes in real time is now available with the latest 6.4.x code on the IBM Storwize V7000 Disk System. This feature extends existing storage optimization functions already available on the Storwize V7000 platform, including thin provisioned volumes. Real-time compressed volumes use existing IBM technology, sharing the same code as IBM real-time compression appliance products. Real-time compressed volumes are a type of thin-provisioned volume, in which physical storage is only used to store a compressed copy of primary, active data. Because data is compressed before being written to disk, there is an overall reduction in used capacity on the storage system. Currently, the Storwize V7000 thin-provisioning capability ensures that capacity is not allocated until required by the host. The addition of the Real-time Compression function serves to compress active data before writing, resulting in significant savings in the amount of disk space needed to service the application demand. More details on IBM Real-time Compression can be found in the latest Redbook on the subject, Real-time Compresssion in SAN Volume Controller and the Storwize V7000 at redbooks.ibm.com/redpieces/pdfs/redp4859.pdf Lab configuration The configuration used for testing included a Linux Red Hat Enterprise 6.2 server, hosted in a VMware ESXi 5.0 environment on an IBM System x 3850m5 server. The SAN storage was allocated as raw device-mapped hard disks into a VMware data store from an external, Fibre Channel-attached IBM Storwize V7000 disk system. Device management for the storage volumes in the Linux operating system was provided by Symantec Storage Foundation 6.0 software. To manage Veritas logical volumes, a separate Veritas Operations Manager server was used, hosted on IBM x3650m2 server hardware. 2
Figure 1: Compressed volume optimization lab configuration Creating and assigning compressed volumes Real-time compressed volumes are created by selecting a new volume template (one of four available during block volume creation) available on the Storwize V7000 disk system. The following panels demonstrate the creation of a compressed volume for use in a Veritas Storage Foundation environment. From the Storwize V7000 user interface, on the Volumes panel, click New Volume to see a new volume category available, as shown in Figure 2. Select the appropriate storage pool from which to provision the space for the new compressed volume. 3
Figure 2. Compressed volume option during volume creation Next, define the new compressed volume name and size, as shown in Figure 3. In the bottom right of the New Volume panel, enter the volume name and size, and click Create to proceed with the compressed volume creation. Figure 3. Defining compressed volume properties 4
Converting existing volumes to compressed volumes In addition to creating new compressed volumes with Storwize V7000 storage, it is possible to convert existing volumes to compressed volumes. The following section provides detail on how to perform the conversion. Assuming an administrator has an existing volume or volumes residing on the Storwize V7000 disk system, they may choose to reduce the amount of active stored data on those volumes by using the volume mirroring feature to create a new volume copy of type compressed for those existing volumes. Figure 4 shows the selection of a single, existing volume, called test_volume2. It can be observed that the volume is a thin-provisioned volume, as indicated by the icon visible to the immediate left of the volume capacity. To convert an existing volume to a compressed volume, select the volume, and select Actions - > Volume Copy Actions -> Add Mirrored Copy. Alternatively, the same menus are accessible by rightclicking the volume to be modified. Figure 4. Accessing the mirrored copy menu to create a new compressed volume Click Add Mirrored Copy to see the panel shown in Figure 5. Of note is the availability of a new volume type Compressed, in addition to the previously available types Generic and Thin Provisioned. Additionally, the figure shows that the new volume copy will be created in the same storage pool that the original volume resides in. This function can be useful if an administrator wants to move the data to a different tier of storage, or to increase the level of data protection for a volume, by having the copy reside in a different storage pool. Because the objective in this case is just to modify the volume properties, the new copy can reside in the same storage pool (SF_Test_Pool). Click Add Copy to finalize the creation of the new volume copy. 5
Figure 5 - Adding the new compressed copy Following the creation of the new volume copy, observe in Figure 6 that the test_volume2 has changed to the type Compressed, as determined by the compression icon to the left of the volume capacity. It further shows that copy0 represents the original thin-provisioned volume, and copy1 represents the actual compressed volume. There is a Compression Saving column, now indicating the percentage of savings achieved by applying compression on the volume. Figure 6. A new compressed volume copy To finalize the conversion of the volume to a compressed volume, delete the original copy (copy0, in this case), as demonstrated in Figure 7. You can access this menu either by selecting Actions -> Delete this Copy, or alternatively by right-clicking the volume copy and selecting the Delete this Copy option. Figure 7. Deleting the original non-compressed copy 6
A single verification panel is presented, and upon acknowledgement, the initial volume copy is removed. The volumes panels provide an updated volume listing like the one in Figure 8, showing now only a compressed volume test_volume2 with no additional volume copies in place. Figure 8. Compressed volume conversion is finished Compressed volume capacities explained As with standard thin-provisioned volumes, Real-time Compression volume capacity can be expressed in three ways. An example is provided in Figure 9. Figure 9. Explaining capacity on compressed volumes Virtual capacity is the defined volume size, and is also the amount of storage visible to the host. This capacity is set when a volume is created. Used capacity is the amount of actual data that is being stored on a volume. 7
Real capacity is the amount of storage allocated to a volume from a storage pool. This capacity is also set at volume creation, and auto expands as used (actual data) capacity increases. Unlike standard thin-provisioned volumes, compressed volume capacity detail includes an additional heading to represent Used storage before compression, as well as a heading to express the compression savings as a percentage. Compressed volumes and Veritas Storage Foundation As with any other block storage, IBM Storwize V7000 volumes can be used in Veritas Storage Foundation environments. Real-time compressed volumes are an excellent option, being a type of enhanced thinprovisioned volume. They can be incorporated into Storage Foundation volume objects (disk groups, volumes, logical volumes, and file systems), providing ease of live storage management for all varieties of application needs. The real-time compressed volume is given access to additional storage only as it is required by an application. Further, as data is removed from these volumes, they can be maintained, and kept thin by taking advantage of scheduled thin reclaim functionality available with Veritas Storage Foundation. Like other thin-provisioned volumes, a real-time compressed volume appears as the type thinrclm in the vxdisk list output, making it eligible for reclamation tasks, which can be created from the host command line interface, or using Veritas Operations Manager. As an example, see Figure 10: Figure 10. Reclaiming on compressed volumes Additionally, the Real-time Compression function in Storwize V7000 6.4 code means that the aggregate amount of data being stored is reduced as it is being written. These combined capabilities of the Storwize 8
V7000 volumes help ensure that Veritas Storage Foundation administrators are able to maintain a completely optimized storage infrastructure. Real-time compressed volume use cases with Storage Foundation Real-time compressed volumes are ideal for use in selected active workload environments attached to Storwize V7000 storage. Compression efficiency and space recovery is most significant for environments that leverage recurring or repetitive data, like that frequently seen in database table spaces, during lab testing, or in high-volume logging applications. Compressed volumes reduce the overall storage allocation, without sacrificing data availability or overall performance. However, because creating a compressed volume results in the automatic allocation of some storage controller processor and memory capacity to manage compression, it is advisable that initial Real-time Compression volume deployment occur during a period of lower system activity. The inclusion of the Real Time Compression function on the Storwize V7000 storage system provides yet another opportunity to optimize storage in Veritas Storage Foundation deployments, by combining this latest Storwize V7000 disk function with the robust host storage management available using Veritas Storage Foundation. 9
Summary The new Real-time Compression functionality available for the IBM Storwize V7000 product provides administrators with the ongoing ability to significantly reduce the amount of active data being stored. This capability affords valuable storage optimization to a highly integrated server and storage solution, further distinguishing the IBM Storwize V7000 as an excellent option for virtualized hosting in today s data center, especially when used in Veritas Storage Foundation environments. 10
Resources The following websites provide useful references to supplement the information contained in this paper: IBM Systems on PartnerWorld ibm.com/partnerworld/systems IBM Redbooks ibm.com/redbooks Symantec Veritas Storage Foundation Product www.symantec.com/storage-foundation IBM Storwize V7000 Product Page ibm.com/systems/storage/disk/storwize_v7000 IBM Redbook: IBM Real-time Compression in SAN Volume Controller and Storwize V7000 redbooks.ibm.com/redpieces/pdfs/redp4859.pdf IBM Techdocs: Thin reclamation for the IBM XIV Storage System and IBM Storwize V7000 ibm.com/partnerworld/page/whitepaper/system/symantec/xiv_storage 11
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