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• Use virtual disk high-availability features,
such as RAID protection and redundant path
failover
• Map snapshot virtual disks and make them
accessible to any connected host, and make
snapshot data available to secondary hosts
by mapping the snapshot to the hosts
• Create up to four snapshots per virtual disk
• Increase the capacity of a snapshot virtual
disk
Virtual disk copies
Administrators can use the PowerVault MD3000
and Modular Disk Storage Manager to create
exact copies of virtual disks. The target virtual
disk copy must be at least the same size as the
source virtual disk, and write access to the
source virtual disk is blocked during the copy
operation. Administrators can specify some set-
tings for the virtual disk copy, such as copy pri-
ority and read/write permission, before or
during the copy operation.
Administrators can use the virtual disk copy
feature to perform the following tasks:
• Copy data to larger disks: As storage require-
ments for a virtual disk change, administrators
can copy virtual disks to a disk group within
the same storage array that uses drives with
larger capacity than the current drives.
• Copy snapshot virtual disks: Administrators
can select snapshot virtual disks as source
virtual disks for virtual disk copies, which
enables comprehensive backups while
helping avoid significant impact on storage
array I/O.
• Assign virtual disk copies to hosts:
Administrators can directly assign hosts to
a target virtual disk, although by default the
hosts do not have write access to the virtual
disks, and an attempt to write to them
results in a host I/O error. Administrators
can enable read/write access by changing
the target virtual disk permissions from
“Read-Only” to “Read/Write.”
• Recover virtual disks: If a source virtual disk
fails, administrators can un-map this failed
virtual disk from its host and map its virtual
disk copy to the same host.
Storage partitions
A storage partition is a logical entity consisting
of one or more virtual disks that can be
accessed by a single host or shared among
hosts that are part of a host group. The first
time administrators map a virtual disk to a
specific host or host group, a storage partition
is created; subsequent virtual disk mappings
to that host or host group do not create another
storage partition. LUN masking is implemented
using storage partitions.
Administrators can use single storage parti-
tions or multiple storage partitions for different
purposes. Single storage partitions are useful
when only one attached host is accessing all of
the virtual disks in the storage array, or when
all attached hosts share access to all virtual
disks on the storage array; this type of configu-
ration requires that all hosts be running the
same OS and special software (such as cluster-
ing applications) to manage virtual disk sharing
and accessibility. Multiple storage partitions are
useful when specific hosts are accessing spe-
cific virtual disks in the storage array, or when
hosts with different operating systems are
attached to the same storage array; this type of
configuration requires creating a storage parti-
tion for each type of host.
Flexible, highly scalable storage
The Dell PowerVault MD3000 is designed to
provide a flexible, highly scalable storage
system with advanced features such as virtual
disk snapshot and virtual disk copy creation.
Deploying this storage system can allow enter-
prises to implement highly available shared
storage and help them avoid the costs and
complexities of internal storage.
Manjusha Gopakumar is a senior engineer ana-
lyst in the Test Case Design team at the Dell
Bangalore Development Center. She has a bach-
elor’s degree in Computer Science from Rajiv
Gandhi Technical University.
Vishal Kadam is a senior engineer analyst in
the Test Case Design team at the Dell Bangalore
Development Center. He has a diploma in
Electronics and Communication and is currently
pursuing a degree in Information Technology
from the University of Mysore. He is a Microsoft
Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), Sun Certified
System Administrator (SCSA), and Brocade
Certified Fabric Professional (BCFP).
Paul Winston is a test engineer adviser in the
Test Case Design team at the Dell Bangalore
Development Center. He has a bachelor’s degree
in Commerce from Bharathiar University and an
advanced diploma in Software Engineering from
Aptech. His current interests include implement-
ing storage area network, network attached stor-
age, and cluster solutions.
QUICK LINK
Dell PowerVault MD3000 User’s Guide:
support.dell.com/support/edocs/
systems/md3000
Reprinted from
Dell Power Solutions,
May . Copyright © Dell Inc. All rights reserved. Rev. .
4
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