Create volumes

Volumes are data containers that manage and organize the storage space on your storage array. You create volumes from the storage capacity available on your storage array, which helps organize your system’s resources. The concept of "volumes" is similar to using folders/directories on a computer to organize files for quick access.

1. From the Manage page, select the storage array.
2. Select Provisioning → Manage Volumes.
3. Select Create → Volumes.
   The Select Host dialog box appears.
4. From the drop-down list, select a specific host or host cluster to which you want to assign volumes, or choose to assign the host or host cluster at a later time.
5. To continue the volume creation sequence for the selected host or host cluster, click Next.
   The Select Workload dialog box appears. A workload contains volumes with similar characteristics, which are optimized based on the type of application the workload supports. You can define a workload or you can select existing workloads.
6. Do one of the following:
   • Select the Create volumes for an existing workload option and then select the workload from the drop-down list.
   • Select the Create a new workload option to define a new workload for a supported application or for “Other” applications, and then following these steps:
   1. From the drop-down list, select the name of the application you want to create the new workload for. Select one of the “Other” entries if the application you intend to use on this storage array is not listed.
   2. Enter a name for the workload you want to create.
7. Click Next. If your workload is associated with a supported application type, enter the information requested; otherwise, go to the next step.
   The Add/Edit Volumes dialog box appears. In this dialog, you create volumes from eligible pools or volume groups. For each eligible pool and volume group, the number of drives available and the total free capacity appears. For some application-specific workloads, each eligible pool or volume group shows the proposed capacity based on the suggested volume configuration and shows the remaining free capacity in GiB. For other workloads, the proposed capacity appears as you add volumes to a pool or volume group and specify the reported capacity.
8. Before you begin adding volumes, read the guidelines in the following table.

   Free capacity	Because volumes are created from pools or volume groups, the pool or volume group you select must have sufficient free capacity.
   Data Assurance (DA)	To create a DA-enabled volume, the host connection you are planning to use must support DA. Note DA is not supported by iSCSI over TCP/IP. If you want to create a DA-enabled volume, select a pool or volume group that is DA capable (look for Yes next to "DA" in the pool and volume group candidates table). DA capabilities are presented at the pool and volume group level. DA protection checks for and corrects errors that might occur as data is transferred through the controllers down to the drives. Selecting a DA-capable pool or volume group for the new volume ensures that any errors are detected and corrected. If any of the host connections on the controllers in your storage array do not support DA, the associated hosts cannot access data on DA-enabled volumes.
   Drive security	To create a secure-enabled volume, a security key must be created for the storage array. If you want to create a secure-enabled volume, select a pool or volume group that is secure capable (look for Yes next to "Secure-capable" in the pool and volume group candidates table). Drive security capabilities are presented at the pool and volume group level. Secure-capable drives prevent unauthorized access to the data on a drive that is physically removed from the storage array. A secure-enabled drive encrypts data during writes and decrypts data during reads using a unique encryption key. A pool or volume group can contain both secure-capable and non-secure-capable drives, but all drives must be secure-capable to use their encryption capabilities.

9. Choose one of these actions based on whether you selected Other or an application-specific workload in the previous step:
   • Other— Click Add new volume in each pool or volume group that you want to use to create one or more volumes.
   • Application-specific workload — Either click Next to accept the system-recommended volumes and characteristics for the selected workload, or click Edit Volumes to change, add, or delete the system-recommended volumes and characteristics for the selected workload.

   The following fields appear.

   Volume Name	A volume is assigned a default name during the volume creation sequence. You can either accept the default name or provide a more descriptive one indicating the type of data stored in the volume.
   Reported Capacity	Define the capacity of the new volume and the capacity units to use (MiB, GiB, or TiB). For Thick volumes, the minimum capacity is 1 MiB, and the maximum capacity is determined by the number and capacity of the drives in the pool or volume group. Capacity in a pool is allocated in 4-GiB increments. Any capacity that is not a multiple of 4 GiB is allocated but not usable. To make sure that the entire capacity is usable, specify the capacity in 4-GiB increments. If unusable capacity exists, the only way to regain it is to increase the capacity of the volume.
   Volume Type	If you selected Application-specific workload, the Volume Type field appears. This indicates the type of volume that was created for an application-specific workload.
   Volume Block Size (DE2000/DE4000/DE6000)	Shows the block sizes that can be created for the volume: 512 – 512 bytes
   Segment Size	Shows the setting for segment sizing, which only appears for volumes in a volume group. You can change the segment size to optimize performance. Allowed segment size transitions — The system determines the segment size transitions that are allowed. Segment sizes that are inappropriate transitions from the current segment size are unavailable on the drop-down list. Allowed transitions usually are double or half of the current segment size. For example, if the current volume segment size is 32 KiB, a new volume segment size of either 16 KiB or 64 KiB is allowed. SSD Cache-enabled volumes — You can specify a 4-KiB segment size for SSD Cache-enabled volumes. Make sure you select the 4-KiB segment size only for SSD Cache-enabled volumes that handle small-block I/O operations (for example, 16 KiB I/O block sizes or smaller). Performance might be impacted if you select 4 KiB as the segment size for SSD Cache-enabled volumes that handle large block sequential operations. Amount of time to change segment size — The amount of time to change a volume's segment size depends on these variables: The I/O load from the host The modification priority of the volume The number of drives in the volume group The number of drive channels The processing power of the storage array controllers When you change the segment size for a volume, I/O performance is affected, but your data remains available.
   Secure-capable	Yes appears next to "Secure-capable" only if the drives in the pool or volume group are secure-capable. Drive Security prevents unauthorized access to the data on a drive that is physically removed from the storage array. This option is available only when the Drive Security feature has been enabled, and a security key is set up for the storage array. A pool or volume group can contain both secure-capable and non-secure-capable drives, but all drives must be secure-capable to use their encryption capabilities.
   DA	Yes appears next to "DA" only if the drives in the pool or volume group support Data Assurance (DA). DA increases data integrity across the entire storage system. DA enables the storage array to check for errors that might occur as data is transferred through the controllers down to the drives. Using DA for the new volume ensures that any errors are detected.

10. To continue the volume creation sequence for the selected application, click Next.
11. In the last step, review a summary of the volumes you intend to create and make any necessary changes. To make changes, click Back. When you are satisfied with your volume configuration, click Finish.