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Welcome to FAST VP Step by Step. Copyright © 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved Copyright © 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. EMC believes the information in this publication is accurate as of its publication date. The information is subject to change without notice. THE INFORMATION IN THIS PUBLICATION IS PROVIDED “AS IS.” EMC CORPORATION MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WITH RESPECT TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PUBLICATION, AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Use, copying, and distribution of any EMC software described in this publication requires an applicable software license. EMC2, EMC, Data Domain, RSA, EMC Centera, EMC ControlCenter, EMC LifeLine, EMC OnCourse, EMC Proven, EMC Snap, EMC SourceOne, EMC Storage Administrator, Acartus, Access Logix, AdvantEdge, AlphaStor, ApplicationXtender, ArchiveXtender, Atmos, Authentica, Authentic Problems, Automated Resource Manager, AutoStart, AutoSwap, AVALONidm, Avamar, Captiva, Catalog Solution, C-Clip, Celerra, Celerra Replicator, Centera, CenterStage, CentraStar, ClaimPack, ClaimsEditor, CLARiiON, ClientPak, Codebook Correlation Technology, Common Information Model, Configuration Intelligence, Configuresoft, Connectrix, CopyCross, CopyPoint, Dantz, DatabaseXtender, Direct Matrix Architecture, DiskXtender, DiskXtender2000, Document Sciences, Documentum, elnput, E-Lab, EmailXaminer, EmailXtender, Enginuity, eRoom, Event Explorer, FarPoint, FirstPass, FLARE, FormWare, Geosynchrony, Global File Virtualization, Graphic Visualization, Greenplum, HighRoad, HomeBase, InfoMover, Infoscape, Infra, InputAccel, InputAccelExpress, Invista, Ionix, ISIS, Max Retriever, MediaStor, MirrorView, Navisphere, NetWorker, nLayers, OnAlert, OpenScale, PixTools, Powerlink, PowerPath, PowerSnap, QuickScan, Rainfinity, RepliCare, RepliStor, ResourcePak, Retrospect, RSA, the RSA logo, SafeLine, SAN Advisor, SAN Copy, SAN Manager, Smarts, SnapImage, SnapSure, SnapView, SRDF, StorageScope, SupportMate, SymmAPI, SymmEnabler, Symmetrix, Symmetrix DMX, Symmetrix VMAX, TimeFinder, UltraFlex, UltraPoint, UltraScale, Unisphere, VMAX, Vblock, Viewlets, Virtual Matrix, Virtual Matrix Architecture, Virtual Provisioning, VisualSAN, VisualSRM, Voyence, VPLEX, VSAM-Assist, WebXtender, xPression, xPresso, YottaYotta, the EMC logo, and where information lives, are registered trademarks or trademarks of EMC Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners. © Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Published in the China. 1 Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

FAST DP and FAST VP

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  • Welcome to FAST VP Step by Step.

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    Welcome to FAST VP Step by Step.

    Copyright 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. EMC believes the information in this publication is accurate as of its publication date. The information is subject to change without notice.

    THE INFORMATION IN THIS PUBLICATION IS PROVIDED AS IS. EMC CORPORATION MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WITH RESPECT TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PUBLICATION, AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

    Use, copying, and distribution of any EMC software described in this publication requires an applicable software license.

    EMC2, EMC, Data Domain, RSA, EMC Centera, EMC ControlCenter, EMC LifeLine, EMC OnCourse, EMC Proven, EMC Snap, EMC SourceOne, EMC Storage Administrator, Acartus, Access Logix, AdvantEdge, AlphaStor, ApplicationXtender, ArchiveXtender, Atmos, Authentica, Authentic Problems, Automated Resource Manager, AutoStart, AutoSwap, AVALONidm, Avamar, Captiva, Catalog Solution, C-Clip, Celerra, Celerra Replicator, Centera, CenterStage, CentraStar, ClaimPack, ClaimsEditor, CLARiiON, ClientPak, Codebook Correlation Technology, Common Information Model, Configuration Intelligence, Configuresoft, Connectrix, CopyCross, CopyPoint, Dantz, DatabaseXtender, Direct Matrix Architecture, DiskXtender, DiskXtender 2000, Document Sciences, Documentum, elnput, E-Lab, EmailXaminer, EmailXtender, Enginuity, eRoom, Event Explorer, FarPoint, FirstPass, FLARE, FormWare, Geosynchrony, Global File Virtualization, Graphic Visualization, Greenplum, HighRoad, HomeBase, InfoMover, Infoscape, Infra, InputAccel, InputAccel Express, Invista, Ionix, ISIS, Max Retriever, MediaStor, MirrorView, Navisphere, NetWorker, nLayers, OnAlert, OpenScale, PixTools, Powerlink, PowerPath, PowerSnap, QuickScan, Rainfinity, RepliCare, RepliStor, ResourcePak, Retrospect, RSA, the RSA logo, SafeLine, SAN Advisor, SAN Copy, SAN Manager, Smarts, SnapImage, SnapSure, SnapView, SRDF, StorageScope, SupportMate, SymmAPI, SymmEnabler, Symmetrix, Symmetrix DMX, Symmetrix VMAX, TimeFinder, UltraFlex, UltraPoint, UltraScale, Unisphere, VMAX, Vblock, Viewlets, Virtual Matrix, Virtual Matrix Architecture, Virtual Provisioning, VisualSAN, VisualSRM, Voyence, VPLEX, VSAM-Assist, WebXtender, xPression, xPresso, YottaYotta, the EMC logo, and where information lives, are registered trademarks or trademarks of EMC Corporation in the United States and other countries.

    All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners.

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Published in the China.

    1Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved 2Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • Upon completion of this class, you should be able to:

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    Upon completion of this class, you should be able to:

    Provide an overview of FAST and FAST VP

    Explain FAST VP elements and terminology

    Describe the algorithms used by FAST VP

    Explain the use of time windows and other Symmetrix parameters to manage FAST VP

    Describe interoperability of FAST VP with other Enginuity software

    3Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • Upon completion of this lesson, you should be able to:

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    Upon completion of this lesson, you should be able to:

    Provide an overview of FAST and FAST VP

    List the benefits of FAST and FAST VP

    4Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • FAST moves application data at the volume (LUN) level. Entire devices are promoted or demoted

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    FAST moves application data at the volume (LUN) level. Entire devices are promoted or demoted

    between tiers based on overall device performance.

    FAST VP adds finer granularities of performance measurement and data movement. The data

    from a single Thin Device under FAST control can be spread across multiple tiers. Based on

    performance data gathered at the extent level, the FAST controller is free to re-locate individual

    sub-extents of a Thin Device.

    5Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • The chart on the left is a Device Activity Report that shows a small number of active devices that

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    The chart on the left is a Device Activity Report that shows a small number of active devices that

    are candidates for Flash drives and a large number of inactive devices that are candidates for

    SATA drives.

    Moving the active data to Flash can improve application performance by two-to-eight times,

    while moving inactive data to SATA can free up Fibre Channel capacity for other applications and

    reduce the cost of storage. A key point here is that a 1 TB SATA drive costs 80 percent less per

    megabyte than a 146 GB Fibre Channel drive.

    6Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • FAST is most effective in an environment where the workload tends to be skewed and the skew

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    FAST is most effective in an environment where the workload tends to be skewed and the skew

    patterns are dynamic.

    For example, if devices that are heavily accessed this month may be under-utilized next month,

    a suitable FAST policy will continually perform the necessary re-locations to locate the heavily

    used devices on faster performing drives.

    FAST is not beneficial if the workload is not skewed or if the I/O workload is static, since

    workload skews can then be addressed using manual methods such as Symmetrix VLUN

    Migration.

    7Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • FAST and FAST VP automate and optimize storage tiers allowing better utilization of EFDs for

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    FAST and FAST VP automate and optimize storage tiers allowing better utilization of EFDs for

    data in need of high performance and SATA technology for infrequently accessed data.

    Combining EFD, Fibre Channel, and low-cost SATA drives provides improved performance in a

    tiered storage solution at a lower operating cost than a similarly sized Fibre Channel only array.

    FAST and FAST VP use defined policies to non-disruptively relocate Symmetrix devices to the

    most beneficial drive technology based upon I/O profile. FAST VP can relocate smaller chunks of

    data located on Thin Devices from one tier of storage to another.

    FAST supports both FBA and CKD devices. FAST VP supports FBA devices only.

    FAST and FAST VP can be managed via the Symmetrix Management Console or SYMCLI.

    8Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • FAST not only improves performance by leveraging Flash drives, it also enables efficient use of

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    FAST not only improves performance by leveraging Flash drives, it also enables efficient use of

    SATA drives to reduce storage costs.

    Here, we see a comparison of a 100 TB configuration of all Fibre Channel compared to a

    combination of Flash, Fibre Channel, and SATA. This is an example of a 100 TB configuration,

    which is close to the average capacity configured in a Symmetrix VMAX.

    Configuring SATA helps offset the cost of the Flash drives (on a drive basis, a 1 TB SATA drive

    costs 80 percent less per megabyte than a 146 GB Fibre Channel), reducing total storage system

    acquisition costs by 20 percent.

    FAST reduces management overhead (assuming one FTE [full-time equivalent] without FAST and

    one-half FTE with FAST)) to lower operational costs by 43 percent. This also includes power,

    cooling, and maintenance.

    Combining both leads to a 27 percent lower, three-year total cost of ownership.

    9Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • The benefits of FAST are:

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    The benefits of FAST are:

    The automated movement of hot devices to higher performing drives and less used

    drives to lower performing drives in a dynamically changing application environment.

    Achieves better cost / benefit ratios by improving application performance at the same

    cost, or providing the same application performance at lower cost. Cost factors include

    the price of drives, their energy usage and the effort to manage them.

    Management and operation of FAST is provided by Symmetrix Management Console

    (SMC), as well as the Solutions Enabler Command Line Interface (SYMCLI).

    EMC Ionix ControlCenter StorageScope and Symmetrix Performance Analyzer can provide

    visibility into the use of storage types in FAST environments and the resulting impact on

    performance.

    With Symmetrix Performance Analyzer, storage administrators can quickly view key

    performance indicators such as IOPs and the response time of a storage group before and after

    the execution of a FAST change plan to assess the impact on performance.

    10Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • Upon completion of this lesson, you should be able to:

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    Upon completion of this lesson, you should be able to:

    Explain FAST VP elements and terminology

    Describe the algorithms used by FAST VP

    Explain the use of time windows and other Symmetrix parameters to manage FAST VP

    11Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • FAST VP adds finer granularities of performance measurement and data movement. As

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    FAST VP adds finer granularities of performance measurement and data movement. As

    performance data is gathered at the sub-LUN level and extents are moved based on activity, the

    data from a single Thin Device under FAST VP control can be spread across multiple tiers. FAST

    VP can put less-frequently accessed data on more cost-effective drives and only the most busy

    extents on higher performing drives.

    This allows the most active 20% of data to be placed on EFD for greater performance while the

    80% of less active data can be placed on Fibre Channel and SATA drives at a lower cost.

    12Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • There are three main elements related to the use of FAST. These are:

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    There are three main elements related to the use of FAST. These are:

    Symmetrix Tier A shared resource with common technologies.

    FAST Policy A policy that manages data placement and movement across Symmetrix

    tiers to achieve service levels and for one or more storage groups.

    Storage Group A logical grouping of devices for common management.

    13Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • For FAST VP, the storage tier is called a VP tier. When defined, VP tiers contain between one and

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    For FAST VP, the storage tier is called a VP tier. When defined, VP tiers contain between one and

    four thin storage pools. Each Thin Pool must contain Data Devices of the same RAID protection

    type, and be configured on the same drive technology.

    In the case of Fibre Channel and SATA drives, the rotational speed of the drives must also match.

    However, Thin Pools containing Data Devices configured on rotating drives of different sizes and

    speeds may be combined in a single VP tier.

    The maximum number of tiers that can be defined on a Symmetrix array is 256. If creating a

    new tier exceeds this limit, then an existing tier must be deleted before creating the new tier.

    Symmetrix tier names cannot exceed 32 characters. Each tier name must be unique. Only

    alphanumeric characters, hyphens ( - ), and underscores ( _ ) are allowed, however, the name

    cannot start with a hyphen or an underscore. Tier names are case insensitive, in other words,

    TierA and tiera are not unique names.

    14Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • The first tier that is added to a given policy, determines the type of tier that policy will contain.

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    The first tier that is added to a given policy, determines the type of tier that policy will contain.

    For policies that include VP tiers, the upper capacity usage limit for each storage tier is specified

    as a percentage of the configured, logical capacity of the associated storage group.

    FAST VP supports the association of up to 1,000 storage groups with FAST policies containing

    thin storage tiers.

    The usage limit for each tier must be between 1 percent and 100 percent. When combined, the

    upper usage limit for all thin storage tiers in the policy must total at least 100 percent, but may

    be greater than 100 percent.

    Creating a policy with a total upper usage limit greater than 100 percent allows flexibility with

    the configuration of a storage group. Here, data may be moved between tiers without

    necessarily having to move a corresponding amount of other data within the same storage

    group.

    Multiple FAST policies may re-use the same tier, allowing different usage limits to be applied to

    different storage groups for the same tier.

    A Symmetrix VMAX storage array will support up to 256 FAST policies. Each FAST policy name

    may be up to 32 alpha-numeric characters, hyphens (-), and underscores (_). Policy names are

    not case-sensitive.

    15Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • A storage group is a logical collection of Symmetrix devices that are managed together. Storage

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    A storage group is a logical collection of Symmetrix devices that are managed together. Storage

    group definitions are shared between FAST and Auto-provisioning Groups. However, a

    Symmetrix device may only belong to one storage group that is under FAST control.

    Storage groups are associated with a FAST policy that defines the maximum percentage of

    devices in the storage group that can exist in a particular tier.

    FAST and FAST VP support the movement of certain device types within the Symmetrix. A

    storage group created for the purposes of FAST or FAST VP may not contain the following device

    types: Thin (TDEV), VDEV, DLDEV, CKD, AS400, ICOS, Metadevice members, SAVEDEV, Data

    Devices (TDATs), DRV, SFS and Vault.

    A Symmetrix VMAX storage array will support up to 8192 storage groups associated with FAST

    policies. Storage groups may contain up to 4096 devices.

    16Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • A policy associates a storage group with up to three tiers. When aggregated, the percentage of

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    A policy associates a storage group with up to three tiers. When aggregated, the percentage of

    storage specified for each tier in the policy must total at least 100 percent.

    The same FAST policy may be applied to multiple storage groups; however, a storage group may

    only be associated with one policy.

    When a storage group is associated with a FAST policy, a priority value must be assigned to the

    storage group. This priority value can be between 1 and 3, with 1 being the highest prioritythe

    default is 2.

    When multiple storage groups share the same policy, the priority value is used when the devices

    contained in the storage groups are competing for the same resources in one of the associated

    tiers. Storage groups with a higher priority will be given preference when deciding which devices

    need to be re-located to another tier.

    17Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • Assume that a policy is configured with three tiers and that the three tiers have a maximum

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    Assume that a policy is configured with three tiers and that the three tiers have a maximum

    allocation of i%, j% and k% respectively. When the sum of the tier allocations (i% + j% +k%) is

    100%, there can be no flexibility of storage allocations between the different storage groups.

    It also provides an easy algorithm for chargeback.

    A 300% sum of all Tier Allocations means that at any given time each associated storage group

    can be entirely on any tier. FAST VP will place the allocations completely based on performance

    criteria.

    In this case, all storage of the tiers is shared dynamically by all storage groups associated with

    any FAST policy.

    Since users will mostly be concerned with usage of premium tiers, the greatest practical

    flexibility will be achieved by configuring the least performing tier with a Tier Allocation of 100%

    and limit the Tier Allocation of the premium tiers.

    As their needs change over time, this will enable sharing of the limited, expensive storage by

    multiple applications.

    18Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • The example shows two production and one development storage groups. The two production

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    The example shows two production and one development storage groups. The two production

    storage groups have a tier allocation that aggregates to 100%. This means the the percentage of

    storage associated with each tier is fixed for these storage groups.

    In contrast to the production application storage groups, the development storage group can be

    moved around more easily, since up to 100% of the storage group can be located on the SATA

    pool if the I/O activity is low. Later, when I/O demand picks up, the more active allocation

    extents can be moved to the FC pool.

    19Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • Initial Analysis Period:

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    Initial Analysis Period:

    The Initial Analysis Period defines the minimum amount of time a Thin Device should be under

    FAST VP management before any performance related data movements should be applied. This

    period only accounts for time passed while the performance time window is open.

    The initial analysis period can be configured to be between 2 hours and 4 weeks, however, it

    cannot exceed that of the workload analysis period. The default is 8 hours.

    Workload Analysis Period:

    The Workload Analysis Period determines the degree to which FAST VP metrics are influenced

    by recent host activity, and also less recent host activity, that takes place while the performance

    time window is considered open.

    The longer the time defined in the workload analysis period, the greater the amount of weight

    assigned to less recent host activity.

    The workload analysis period can be configured to be between 2 hours and 4 weeks. The default

    is 1 week (7 days).

    These FAST VP performance metrics provide a measure of activity that assigns greater weight to

    more recent I/O requests, but are also influenced by less recent activity. By default, based on a

    Workload Analysis Period of 24 hours, an I/O that has just been received is weighted two times

    more heavily than an I/O received 24 hours previously.

    20Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • The performance time windows are used to identify the business cycle for the Symmetrix array.

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    The performance time windows are used to identify the business cycle for the Symmetrix array.

    They specify date and time ranges (past or future) when samples will be included in, or excluded

    from, the FAST performance data analysis.

    The intent of defining performance time windows, is to distinguish periods of time when the

    Symmetrix is idle from periods when the Symmetrix is active, and to only collect performance

    data during the active periods.

    Performance windows are common for Optimizer, FAST, and FAST VP.

    A default performance time window collects all performance data samples, 24 hours a day, 7

    days a week, 365 days a year.

    21Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • Device movement time windows are used to specify date and time ranges when moves are

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    Device movement time windows are used to specify date and time ranges when moves are

    allowed, or not allowed, to be performed.

    In order to prevent FAST VP from changing the current tiering allocation of a Thin Device, a

    feature called device pinning may be used. Pinning a device will lock all current extent

    allocations for the device in their current locations, and will prevent FAST VP from relocating

    them.

    Any new allocations performed for a pinned device, will come from the Thin Pool the device is

    bound to. These allocations will also not be moved by FAST VP.

    22Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • In the example below An exclusive performance window has been added to exclude performance data collections for a specific weekend. We will covert the specifics of setting up

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    In the example below An exclusive performance window has been added to exclude performance data collections for a specific weekend. We will covert the specifics of setting up time windows in the next module.

    sun200 /VMAXe symtw list -sid 95 -type perf

    Symmetrix ID: 000195900495

    Performance Time Windows

    Sunday : 00:00 - 24:00Monday : 00:00 - 24:00Tuesday : 00:00 - 24:00Wednesday : 00:00 - 24:00Thursday : 00:00 - 24:00Friday : 00:00 - 24:00Saturday : 00:00 - 24:00

    Exclusive Time Windows (1){

    Fri Dec 02 22:00:00 2011 - Mon Dec 05 06:00:00 2011}

    23Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • The Data Movement Mode for FAST VP can be either Off (no movement) or Automatic.

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    The Data Movement Mode for FAST VP can be either Off (no movement) or Automatic.

    The Pool Reserved Capacity (PRC) reserves a percentage of each pool included in a VP tier for

    non-FAST VP activities. The purpose of this, is to ensure that FAST VP data movements do not fill

    a Thin Pool, and subsequently cause a new extent allocation, a result of a host write, to fail.

    When the percentage of unallocated space in a Thin Pool is equal to the PRC, FAST VP will no

    longer perform data movements into that pool. However, data movements may continue to

    occur out of the pool to other pools.

    When the percentage of unallocated space becomes greater than the PRC, FAST VP can begin

    performing data movements into that pool again.

    The PRC can be set on a per pool basis or system-wide.

    The PRC can be configured to be between 1% and 80%. The default is 10%.

    The Relocation Rate is a quality of service (QoS) setting for FAST VP and affects the

    aggressiveness of data movement requests generated by FAST VP. This aggressiveness is

    measured as the amount of data that will be requested to be moved at any given time, and the

    priority given to moving the data between pools.

    The relocation rate can be configured to be between 1 and 10, with 1 being the most

    aggressive. The default is 5.

    24Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • The SYMCLI listing of the FAST control parameters highlights those parameters that are shared

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    The SYMCLI listing of the FAST control parameters highlights those parameters that are shared

    between FAST DP, FAST VP, and optimizer as well as those that are unique to FAST DP and FAST

    VP.

    Note that only the FAST VP control parameters are relevant for VMAXe arrays.

    On VMAXe arrays all the FAST DP parameters show a value of N/A.

    25Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • The FAST & FAST VP control parameters can be set via SMC as well. This is where we check FAST

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    The FAST & FAST VP control parameters can be set via SMC as well. This is where we check FAST

    and Optimizer control parameters. The first half of the screen refers to parameters that are

    shared between FAST, FAST VP, and Optimizer.

    The second half contains parameters that are specific to FAST VP.

    Please note that on VMAXe Arrays, SMC will only show the settings relevant FAST VP. VMAXe

    arrays only support virtual provisioning.

    26Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • There are two components of FAST VP Symmetrix microcode and the FAST controller.

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    There are two components of FAST VP Symmetrix microcode and the FAST controller.

    The Symmetrix microcode is a part of the Enginuity storage operating environment that controls

    components within the array. The FAST controller is a service that runs on the service processor.

    When FAST VP is active, both components participate in the execution of two algorithms the

    intelligent tiering algorithm and the allocation compliance algorithm to determine appropriate

    data placement.

    The intelligent tiering algorithm uses performance data collected by the microcode, as well as

    supporting calculations performed by the FAST controller, to issue data movement requests to

    the VLUN VP data movement engine.

    The allocation compliance algorithm enforces the upper limits of storage capacity that can be

    used in each tier by a given storage group by also issuing data movement requests to the VLUN

    VP data movement engine.

    Data movements performed by the microcode are achieved by moving allocated extents

    between tiers. The size of data movement can be as small as 768 KB, representing a single

    allocated Thin Device extent, but will more typically be an entire extent group, which is 7,680 KB

    in size.

    27Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • The read miss metric accounts for each DA read operation that is performed. Reads to areas of a

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    The read miss metric accounts for each DA read operation that is performed. Reads to areas of a

    Thin Device that have not had space allocated in a Thin Pool are not counted. Also, read hits,

    which are serviced from cache, are not considered.

    Write operations are counted in terms of the number of distinct DA operations that are

    performed. The metric accounts for when a write is de-staged write hits to cache are not

    considered.

    Writes related to specific RAID protection schemes will also not be counted. In the case of RAID

    1 protected devices, the write I/O is only counted for one of the mirrors. In the case of RAID 5

    and RAID 6 protected devices, parity writes are not counted.

    Pre-fetch operations are accounted for in terms of the number of distinct DA operations

    performed to pre-fetch data spanning a FAST VP extent. This metric considers each DA read

    operation performed as a pre-fetch operation.

    Workload related to internal copy operations, such as drive rebuilds, clone operations, VLUN

    migrations, or even FAST VP data movements, is not included in the FAST VP metrics.

    The intelligent tiering algorithm considers the performance metrics of all Thin Devices under

    FAST VP control, and determines the appropriate tier for each extent group.

    The allocation compliance algorithm is used to enforce the per-tier storage capacity usage

    limits.

    28Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • The intelligent tiering algorithm is structured into two components; a main component that

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    The intelligent tiering algorithm is structured into two components; a main component that

    executes within Symmetrix microcode and a secondary, supporting, component that executes

    within the FAST controller on the service processor.

    The main component assesses whether extent groups need to be moved in order to optimize

    the use of the FAST VP storage tiers. If so, the required data movement requests are issued to

    the VLUN VP data movement engine.

    When determining the appropriate tier for each extent group, the main component makes use

    of both the FAST VP metrics, previously discussed, and supporting calculations performed by the

    secondary component on the service processor.

    The intelligent tiering algorithm runs during open data movement windows, when FAST is

    enabled and the FAST VP operating mode is Automatic.

    29Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • The goal of the allocation compliance algorithm is to detect and correct situations where the

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    The goal of the allocation compliance algorithm is to detect and correct situations where the

    allocated capacity for a particular storage group within a thin storage tier exceeds the maximum

    capacity allowed by the associated FAST policy.

    A storage group is considered to be in compliance with its associated FAST policy when the

    configured capacity of the Thin Devices in the storage group is located on tiers defined in the

    policy and when the usage of each tier is within the upper limits of the tier usage limits

    specified in the policy.

    When a compliance violation exists, the algorithm will generate a data movement request to

    return the allocations within the required limits. This request will explicitly indicate which Thin

    Device extents should be moved, and the specific Thin Pools they should be moved to.

    The size of the data movement request depends on the amount of capacity that is currently out

    of compliance, but also on the user-defined relocation rate. The maximum size of request that

    can be generated is 10 GB worth of data movements.

    When the relocation rate is set to anything other than 1, the FAST controller divides 10 GB by

    the relocation rate to determine the new maximum. For example, if the relocation rate is set to

    2, the maximum request size will be 5 GB; if it is 10, the maximum size will be 1 GB.

    The compliance algorithm runs every 10 minutes during open data movement windows, when

    FAST is enabled and the FAST VP operating mode is Automatic.

    30Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • Data movements executed by FAST VP are performed by the VLUN VP data movement engine,

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    Data movements executed by FAST VP are performed by the VLUN VP data movement engine,

    and involve moving Thin Device extents between Thin Pools within the array.

    Extents are moved via a move process only; extents are not swapped between pools.

    The movement of extents, or extent groups, does not change the Thin Device binding

    information. That is, the Thin Device will still remain bound to the pool it was originally bound

    to. New allocations for the Thin device, as the result of host writes, will continue to come from

    the bound pool.

    Only extents that are allocated will be moved. No back-end configuration changes are

    performed during a FAST VP data movement, and no configuration locks are held during the

    process.

    As swaps are not performed, there is no requirement for any swap space, such as DRVs, to

    facilitate data movement.

    In order to prevent FAST VP from changing the current tiering allocation of a Thin Device, a

    feature called device pinning may be used. Pinning a device will lock all current extent

    allocations for the device in their current locations, and will prevent FAST VP from relocating

    them.

    31Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • Upon completion of this lesson, you should be able to:

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    Upon completion of this lesson, you should be able to:

    Compare FAST (DP) and FAST VP

    Discuss FAST Controller states and activities

    Describe interoperability of FAST and FAST VP with other Enginuity software

    32Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • FAST moves application data at the volume (LUN) level. Entire devices are promoted or demoted

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    FAST moves application data at the volume (LUN) level. Entire devices are promoted or demoted

    between tiers based on overall device performance.

    FAST VP adds finer granularities of performance measurement and data movement. The data

    from a single Thin Device under FAST control can be spread across multiple tiers. The FAST

    controller is free to relocate individual sub-extents of a Thin Device, based on performance data

    gathered at the extent level.

    Note: Only FAST VP is relevant for VMAXe arrays.

    33Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • There are five possible states that the FAST controller can be reported in. These are:

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    There are five possible states that the FAST controller can be reported in. These are:

    1. Enabled The FAST controller will perform all of its functions: performance data collection,

    performance data analysis, configuration change plan generation, and configuration change plan

    execution.

    2. Disabled The FAST controller will only perform one of its functions: performance data

    collection. Data analysis and configuration change plan generation or execution will not be

    performed.

    3. Disabling The FAST controller is transitioning from Enabled to Disabled.

    4. DisabledwithError The FAST controller has stopped operation due to an internal error.

    None of the FAST Controller operations will be performed.

    5. Degraded The FAST controller can perform some or all of its functions. However, it cannot

    perform each function fully.

    For more details on each of the states consult the FAST VP Technical note.

    34Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • When the state of the FAST controller is queried, and the state is Enabled, the current activity

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    When the state of the FAST controller is queried, and the state is Enabled, the current activity

    being performed by the controller will also be displayed. Valid activities include:

    Idle The FAST controller is currently idle.

    FetchingStats The FAST controller is collecting Symmetrix device performance

    statistics.

    AnalyzingStats The FAST controller is performing analysis on the collected device

    performance statistics.

    PendingPlan A configuration change plan has been approved and its execution

    scheduled.

    RunningPlan A configuration change plan is currently being executed.

    35Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • FAST and FAST VP operates alongside Symmetrix features such as Symmetrix Optimizer, Dynamic

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    FAST and FAST VP operates alongside Symmetrix features such as Symmetrix Optimizer, Dynamic

    Cache Partitioning, and Auto-provisioning groups.

    While both FAST and Symmetrix Optimizer can be operated independently of each other on a

    Symmetrix VMAX array, they do share several configuration settings between them. Refer to

    the page entitled: Control Parameters related to FAST and FAST VP to identify the shared and

    unique parameters.

    36Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • FAST and FAST VP are fully interoperable with all Symmetrix replication technologiesSRDF,

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    FAST and FAST VP are fully interoperable with all Symmetrix replication technologiesSRDF,

    TimeFinder/Clone, TimeFinder/Snap, and Open Replicator.

    Any active replication on a Symmetrix device remains intact while the device is being moved or

    swapped.

    Similarly, all incremental relationships are maintained for the moved or swapped devices.

    However, what must be kept in mind, is that FAST device movements will consume array

    resources. This means that planning must be performed in determining when FAST device

    movements should occur to minimize impact on other replication processes.

    Remember, that all relocations performed by FAST DP occur on standard devices. All relocations

    performed by FAST VP occur on Thin Device extents.

    The source device of the TimeFinder/Clone session, or Clone emulation session, can be moved

    or swapped by FAST and FAST VP. A device that is the target device of a TimeFinder/Clone

    session, or a Clone emulation session, can also be moved or swapped by FAST or FAST VP,

    provided that the target has been split or activated.

    The source device in a TimeFinder/Snap session can be moved or swapped by FAST or FAST VP.

    The control device in an Open Replicator session, push or pull, can be moved or swapped by

    FAST or FAST VP.

    37Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • An RDF1 volume, with local protection, can be moved or swapped by FAST while also actively

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    An RDF1 volume, with local protection, can be moved or swapped by FAST while also actively

    replicating to an RDF2 volume, in either synchronous or asynchronous mode.

    Similarly, an RDF2 volume can be moved or swapped while being replicated to by an RDF1

    volume.

    Thin SRDF devices, R1 or R2, can be associated with a FAST policy. Extents of SRDF devices can

    be moved between tiers while the devices are being actively replicated, in either synchronous or

    asynchronous mode.

    While there are no restrictions on the ability to move or swap SRDF devices with FAST and FAST

    VP, device movements are restricted to the array upon which the FAST Controller is operating. If

    an RDF1 device is moved between two tiers, FAST or FAST VP will not automatically perform a

    corresponding move of the respective RDF2 device on a remote array. This means that, in a

    SRDF failover scenario, the remote Symmetrix array will have different performance

    characteristics than the failed local production array.

    Based on FAST DP movements, while it is possible to move R2 devices manually on the R1 side,

    it is not possible to move Thin Device extents away from the pool that the Thin Device is bound

    to using VLUN migration. So, it is not possible to replicate the changes made to the R1 side on

    the R2 side when Thin Pools are being managed by FAST VP.

    38Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • Storage groups created for the purposes of FAST or FAST VP may also be used for Auto-

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    Storage groups created for the purposes of FAST or FAST VP may also be used for Auto-

    provisioning, and the other way round. However, while a device may be contained in multiple

    storage groups for the purposes of Auto-provisioning, it may only be contained in one storage

    group that is associated with a FAST or FAST VP policy.

    While Auto-provisioning storage groups can share devices, FAST or FAST VP managed storage

    groups cannot share devices. As a result of this, it may not be possible to use already configured

    storage groups for the purposes of FAST or FAST VP.

    39Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • Key points covered in this class:

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    Key points covered in this class:

    Overview of FAST and FAST VP

    FAST and FAST VP elements and terminology

    Algorithms used by FAST and FAST VP

    Time windows and other Symmetrix parameters to manage FAST and FAST VP

    Interoperability of FAST and FAST VP with other Enginuity software

    40Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO

  • Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

    Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved

    Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

    Kevin Wang ([email protected])

    41Module 1: FAST VP HOWTO