Important: Storage Partitioning is a of the storage management software and must be enabled either by you or your storage vendor supplier. The maximum number of storage partitions you can create on the depends on the premium feature that has been enabled.
After you have organized your total storage capacity into , you must then consider how to share those virtual disks among in the storage array. In this release of the storage management software, hosts with different operating systems () can share access to a storage array through the use of Storage Partitioning.
A storage partition is a logical entity consisting of one or more storage array virtual disks that can be shared among hosts, which might be part of a or accessed by a single host. A storage partition is created when you define a collection of hosts (a ) or a single host and then define a . This mapping allows you to define what host group or host will have access to a particular virtual disk in your storage array.
Benefits of using storage partitions include ease of management, amortization of costs, scalability, and flexibility.
The Storage Partition icon , when present in the Topology View, indicates a storage partition has been defined for a host group or a host. This icon is also displayed in the status bar of the window when storage partitions are enabled.
Defining Storage Partitions
Use the following procedure to define storage partitions.
1
Create virtual disks on the storage array. During virtual disk creation, specify one of two virtual disk-to-LUN mapping settings.
Automatic
This setting specifies that a be automatically assigned to the virtual disk. This setting allows host groups or hosts that do not have specific virtual disk-to-LUN mappings (designated by the node in the Mappings View) to have access to the virtual disk.
If storage partitions are not required, choose this setting.
Map later with Storage Partitioning
This setting specifies that a LUN not be assigned to the virtual disk. This setting allows you to define a specific virtual disk-to-LUN mapping and create storage partitions by selecting Mappings >> Define >> Storage Partitioning.
If storage partitions are required, choose this setting.
Grant virtual disk access to defined host groups or hosts by defining virtual disk-to-LUN mappings by using the Storage Partitioning Wizard. Each host group or host is granted a unique view of partitioned storage and is identified with a storage partition icon .
A defined host group or host can either access these particular virtual disks:
Virtual Disks with default virtual disk-to-LUN mappings. In this case, the host group or host is part of the Default Group.
-or-
Virtual Disks to which they have been granted access through a specific virtual disk-to-LUN mapping.
, when present in the Topology View, indicates a storage partition has been defined for a host group or a host. This icon is also displayed in the status bar of the