ISPT VNX Fundamentals SRG

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Revision Date: February 2014

Revision Number: MR-1WP-VNXFD

VNX Fundamentals


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This course covers the EMC VNX Series. It includes the EMC VNX Series models, architecture,

features, functions, capabilities, and management. The peripheral products associated with VNX

are introduced.

VNX Fundamentals


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This module focuses on the VNX product benefits and use cases. Peripheral and/or adjacent

products, tools and options are considered and positioned at a fundamental level.

VNX Fundamentals


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The VNX Series unifies EMC’s file‐based and block‐based offerings into a single product that can be

managed with one easy to use GUI. In addition, Object storage solutions are available that make

use of the VNX storage systems.

The

VNX

Series

is

a

storage

solution

designed

for

a

wide

range

of

environments

that

include

midtier‐to‐enterprise. The back end storage connectivity is via Serial attached SCSI (SAS) which

provides up to 6 Gb/s connection.

The VNX unified storage platforms support the NAS protocols (CIFS for Windows and NFS for

UNIX/Linux, including pNFS), patented Multi‐Path File System (MPFS) as well native block protocols

(iSCSI and Fiber Channel).

VNX is optimized for:

• Core IT applications like transactional workloads – Oracle, SAP, SQL, Exchange or SharePoint.

•

Server virtualization

and

end

user

computing/VDI.

• Applications that need traditional file, or block or unified storage.

VNX is also a good fit for partner lead configurations optimized for virtual applications with

VMware and Hyper‐V integration.

The VNX with MCx (multi‐core optimization) architecture unleashes the power of Flash, taking full

advantage of the latest Intel multi‐core technology with the introduction of MCx.

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The pressure in Exchange environments to eliminate backup windows and reduce recovery times is

stronger than ever before. With dynamic, policy‐based protection management, these dynamic

environments can easily exceed demanding recovery objectives using EMC VNX advanced

technologies such as snapshots and continuos protection technology. It also helps efficiently use

storage resources and optimize protection for Microsoft Exchange. The VNX storage array

performance is optimal under heavy Exchange workload.

Traditionally, the best practices for optimizing storage performance involved manual, resource‐

intensive processes. The VNX allows SQL administrators to leverage an easy‐to‐use and potentially

hands‐off mechanism for optimizing the performance of the most demanding applications.

Automating the movement of data between storage tiers saves both time and resources. The VNX

eliminates the need to spend hours manually monitoring and analyzing data to determine a storage

strategy, then maintaining, relocating and migrating LUNs (VNX logical volumes) to the appropriate

storage tiers.

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Online Transaction Processing (OLTP) database applications tend to be mission‐critical and usually

have stringent I/O latency requirements. Traditionally, these OLTP databases are deployed on a

huge number of rotating Fibre Channel (FC) spindles to meet the low I/O latency requirement.

Consequently, the effective capacity utilization of these spindles is very low. VNX reduce the need

to buy more drives to keep up with database growth. Also the VNX automatically and

nondisruptively migrates hot and cold data between the available storage tiers, thereby improving

the effective storage utilization.

The common business requirement in SAP environments is reducing TCO while improving

performance and service level delivery. Frequently, responsiveness to sensitive SAP applications

has deteriorated over time due to increased data volumes, unbalanced data stores, and changing

business requirements. By using VNX with block data, SAP deployments can gain a significant

performance boost without the need to redesign the applications, adjust the data layouts, or

reload significant amounts of data. With automated sub‐LUN level tiering and extended cache,

Administrators can properly balance data distribution across the tiers that allows capacity and

performance optimization.

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The VNX Series is optimized for virtualization, and thus supports all leading Hypervisors, simplifies

desktop creation and storage configuration. VNX leverages advanced technologies to optimize

performance for the virtual desktop environment, helping support service level agreements.

Virtualization management integration allows the VMware administrator or the Microsoft Hyper‐V

administrator to

extend

their

familiar

management

console

for

VNX

related

activities.

VMware vStorage APIs for Array Integration (VAAI) for both SAN and NAS connections, allows the

VNX to be fully optimized for virtualized environments. EMC Virtual Storage Integrator (VSI) is

targeted towards the VMware administrator. VSI supports VNX provisioning within vCenter, full

visibility to physical storage, and increases management efficiency.

In the Microsoft Server 2012 and Hyper‐V 3.0 space, the Array Offloaded Data Transfer (ODX)

allows the VNX to be fully optimized for Windows virtual environments. This technology offloads

storage‐related functions from the server to the storage system.

EMC Storage Integrator (ESI) for Windows provides the ability to provision block and file storage for

Microsoft Windows or for Microsoft SharePoint sites.

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EMC VNX for file provides a GUI tool that directly applies the GPO security settings to the file

systems. It has the same effect as applying the security update from a Windows server, but it takes

significantly shorter time to do so on large and deep directories, because the security settings are

managed locally on the VNX.

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This module covered the VNX solution and its benefits, the key use cases, and the peripheral

products associated with VNX storage systems.

VNX Fundamentals


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This module focuses on the VNX modular architecture, terminology, components, configurations,

and models.

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VNX disk drives are held in Disk Array Enclosures or DAE. A storage pool is a single repository of

physical disks from which LUNs may be created. Storage can be provisioned from either Pools or

RAID Groups. A RAID group is a set of disks (up to 16 in a group) with the same type, capacity and

redundancy, on which the Administrator can create one or more Classic LUNs. A Pool is a collection

of disks that are dedicated to create LUNs. A Pool is somewhat similar to a RAID group. However, a

Pool can contain a few disks or hundreds of disks, whereas a RAID Group is limited to 16 disks.

Pools can be heterogeneous (made up of more than one type of drive) or homogeneous

(composed by only one type of drive).

A LUN (Logical unit number) is the identifying number of a SCSI or iSCSI object that processes SCSI

commands. The LUN is the last part of the SCSI address for a SCSI object. The LUN is an ID for the

logical unit, but the term is often used to refer to the logical unit itself.

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Storage processor is the core of the VNX platform. It delivers the VNX Block components and

services and runs VNX OE for Block. The storage processor supports block data with UltraFlex I/O

(Covered later in this module) technology that supports Fibre Channel, iSCSI, and FCoE protocols. It

provides access for all external hosts and the file side of the VNX array.

The VNX

platform

storage

processors

by

design

operate

in

Active/Active

mode.

Active

‐Active

implies that both controllers are active/on‐line and receiving host I/O simultaneously for the

backend storage.

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The Control Station is included in all VNX Unified and VNX File storage arrays to provide

management and monitoring functions. The Control Station runs a customized Linux kernel and

operates VNX for file management services. A second Control Station may be present in some

models for redundancy.

The Control

Station

also

provides

a secure

Administrative interface

to

all

file

‐server

components

– a

single point of management for the whole VNX solution, which can be isolated to a secure, private

network.

The Control Station software is used to install and configure the system, monitor the health of the

primary Data Movers and initiate failover to the standby Data Movers if the primary blade fails. It is

also used to monitor the environmental conditions and performance of all components; and

implement the call‐home and dial‐in support features.

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The Disk Processor Enclosure (DPE) is 3U in size and includes redundant Storage Processors, two

Power Supply/Cooling Modules, and the first set of disk drives. The basic difference between a Disk

Processor Enclosure (DPE) and a Storage Processor Enclosure (SPE) is that the DPEs contain both

Storage Processor and disks. The SPE does not contain disks.

The Storage

Processor

Enclosure

(SPE)

is

4U

in

size

and

houses

each

Storage

Processor

(SPB

and

SPA), Ultraflex I/O modules, Management modules, and Power Supply/Cooling modules.

All Disk Array Enclosures (DAEs) accommodate two or four Link Control Cards (LCC), and two Power

Supply/Cooling modules (PS A and PS B). The LCC’s main function is to be a SAS expander and

provide enclosure services for all drive slots. Each LCC independently monitors the environmental

status of the entire enclosure and communicates the status to the storage processors.

A Data Mover Enclosure (DME) is required for file level access. A DME contains one or two Data

Mover X‐Blades. Each X‐blade has Fibre Channel ports to access data through the SPs as well as

Ethernet ports to provide file data access to users and applications.

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The power supplies provide the information necessary for Unisphere to monitor and display the

ambient temperature and power consumption of the power supply. The power supplies are field

replaceble units (FRUs). Each power supply includes two power LEDs and a status LED. The power

supplies provide adaptive cooling, in which an array adjusts the power supply fan speeds to spin

only as fast as needed to ensure sufficient cooling. The Power Supplies are hot‐swappable and

redundant.

The Standby Power Supply provides battery power to DPE and power to the DAE and SPE on some

VNX model. The VNX with MCx uses a DPE which has the SPS built within the VNX SP (Battery On

Board) except for the VNX8000 (SPE based) which uses independent SPSs.

The VNX series platform can support up to two standby power supplies or dual SPS.

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VNX Series uses I/O Modules in various combinations for front and back‐end connectivity. Each I/O

module is protocol independent and hot swappable.

Options for block I/O include Fibre Channel, Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) and iSCSI. Options

for file I/O include both 1 Gb/s and 10 Gb/s Ethernet with either copper or optical connections.

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The VNX series ships as a block only, file only or Unified file and block system. The three basic

configurations are:

• Block – Supports block data

• File – Supports file data

• Unified – Supports block and file data

A unified configuration has the same components as a file configuration.

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The VNX with MCx architecture consists of 5 VNX Series platforms that will scale up to 6 petabytes.

The VNX with MCx architecture unleashes the power of Flash to address the high‐performance,

low‐latency requirements of virtualized applications.

VNX Series models are comprised of 5000, 7000 and 8000 class systems. The available models are

VNX5200, VNX5400,

VNX5600,

VNX5800,

VNX7600,

and

VNX8000.

The

hardware

and

connectivity

options scale with each model, providing more power and options throughout the model range.

As seen earlier the VNX with MCx architecture takes full advantage of the latest Intel multi‐core

technology with the introduction of MCx. MCx distributes all VNX data services across all cores – up

to 32.

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The previous generation are comprised of 5000 and 7000 class systems. The available models are

VNX5100 (Block‐only), VNX5300, VNX5500, VNX5700, and VNX7500. The hardware and

connectivity options scale with each model, providing more power and options throughout the

model range.

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VNX Series gateway platforms are NAS heads, only. These platforms access external storage such as

block based VNX, CLARiiON, Symmetrix, or combinations of these platforms for optimal

performance or TCO. VNX gateways allow the back‐end storage to be pooled among the NAS, MPFS

and FC/iSCSI SAN, which improves storage usage and consolidates management. Gateways are

ideal for environments with existing Fibre Channel/iSCSI SANs.

A VNX gateway is very suited when both performance and capacity scaling are required. A VNX

gateway supports up to four back‐end arrays concurrently, delivering increased I/O bandwidth to

the front‐end X‐Blades.

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The VNX‐F, all‐flash configurations, are based on the VNX7600 and leverage the MCx multi‐core

storage software operating environment. The VNX‐F is specifically configured as an all‐flash array

and therefore does not include tiered storage. The flash storage implements enterprise multi‐cell

(eMLC) flash technology.

VNX‐F is

available

in

four

pre

‐configured

block

‐only,

fixed

‐capacity

configurations:

Classic

LUN,

dual

node symmetric Active‐Active, preconfigured RAID 5 (8+1), with optional block de‐duplication and

compression.

VNX‐F is optimized for virtualization and ensures the deployment of virtualized applications on

hypervisor technologies, cloud deployments, high transactions, and high demand databases. (Visit

http://support.emc.com for details)

VNX‐F does not include tiered storage, HDDs (as data drives), File protocols (NFS and CIFS),

additional IO modules, or RAID types other than what is pre‐configured.

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Atmos VE (virtual edition) with VNX in a virtualized infrastructure can be deployed to support

web/cloud applications and storage‐as‐a service. Atmos VE on VNX has four key components: VNX

storage, vSphere, Atmos VMs and Application integration points or access methods.

The key here is that applications consuming storage from any VM will see the system as the large

object store

with

a unified

name

space.

VNX Fundamentals


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This module covered the architecture and components of the VNX storage solution. Also this

module identified configurations and models of the VNX storage solution.

VNX Fundamentals


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This module focuses on the VNX features, capabilities and the usage of these in an IT environment.

It explains the high availability, storage efficiency, local , performance, and additional features. This

module will also describe the VNX software suites and packs.

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This lesson covers the various VNX series software suites.

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The VNX Series arrays software packaging comes in a variety of suites. These various suites each

contain a unique set of solutions to improve efficiency and availability by simplifying and

automating many storage tasks. Functionality is purchased in the form of a Suite and combinations

of Suites are packaged into software packs. The Total Efficiency pack contains all of the software

suites while the Total Protection Pack only contains the protections suites. The following suites are

available for the VNX arrays.

• FAST Suite – Automatically optimizes the array for the highest system performance and the

lowest storage cost simultaneously.

• Security and Compliance Suite – Keeps data safe from changes, deletions, and malicious activity.

• Local Protection Suite – Is used for protecting and repurposing data.

• Remote Protection Suite – Protects data from localized failures, outages, and disasters.

• Application Protection Suite – Automates application copies and proves compliance.

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This lesson covers Hardware and Component Redundancy, LUN Trespass and VNX Active/Active

mode, Symmetric Active/Active mode, and Network high availability features.

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VNX availability and redundancy features include:

• Dual storage processors with mirrored write cache. Each storage processor contains both primary

cached data for its LUNs and a secondary copy of the cache for its peer storage processor.

• Scalable and redundant X‐Blades (or Data Movers).

• Second Control Station may be present in some models for redundancy.

• RAID protection levels 0, 1/0, 5, and 6 are available and can co‐exist in the same array

simultaneously to match different protection requirements.

• Each disk drive has two data ports. This gives two separate paths to each drive. If an SP fails, or

any component of the path fails, the drive can still be accessed by the other SP.

• Proactive hot sparing enhances system robustness and delivers maximum reliability and

availability.

• Redundant power supplies.

• Battery backup to allow for an orderly shutdown and cache de‐staging to vault disks to ensure

data protection

in

the

event

of

a power

failure.

• In the event of a power failure, the Vault drives (first four disks of first enclousure) provide the

de‐stage area for data in write cache that is not yet committed to the disk.

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LUNs are managed and accessed by a single SP. This process is called LUN ownership. LUN

ownership is automatically assigned to storage processors in a round‐robin fashion when a LUN is

bound.

Both SPs

in

a VNX

array

have

access

to

every

LUN,

I/O

to

each

LUN

comes

only

from

the

SP

that

is

the LUN owner. In the example on the left, SP A owns LUN 0.

If a path goes offline, for example, if SP A is being rebooted due to a software upgrade, all LUNs

from that SP will be “Trespassed” to the other SP.

With the Asymmetric Logical Unit Access, or ALUA, (a request forwarding implementation) an I/O

received by an SP that does not own a LUN is redirected to the other SP without LUN trespassing.

This implementation should not be confused by an active‐active model because I/O is not serviced

by both SPs for a given LUN. The LUN ownership is still in place. I/O is redirected to the SP owning

the LUN.

In the event of a front‐end path failure, there is no need to trespass LUNs immediately. The Upper

Redirector driver will route the I/O to the SP owning the LUNs through the CMI channel.

In the event of a back‐end path failure, there is no need to trespass LUNs immediately. The Lower

Redirector will route the I/O to the SP owning the LUNs through the CMI channel. The host is

transparent to this redirection.

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Now with VNX with MCx architecture EMC has introduced the first phase of an active/active access

model. Symmetric Active/Active allows clients to access a Classic LUN (not supported on pool

LUNs) simultaneously through both SPs for improved reliability, ease‐of management and improved

performance. Since all paths are active, there is no need for the storage processor to "trespass" to

gain access to the LUN “owned” by the other storage processor on a path failure, eliminating

application timeouts. The same is true for an SP failure, as the SP merely picks up all of the I/Os

from the host through the alternate “optimized” path. This capability enables additional LUN

performance, as there is more backend bandwidth that can be served by a single SP or FE port.

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EMC VNX FailSafe Network or “FSN” provides high availability in the event of an Ethernet switch

failure by connecting the two components of the FSN to separate switches. Unlike EtherChannel

and LACP, FSN can maintain full bandwidth when failed over, given the same bandwidth on both

the active and passive configurations. They do not require any special switch configuration. FailSafe

Networks are configured as sets of ports, FastEtherChannels, Link Aggregations, or combinations of

these.

Only one connection in an FSN is active at a time. If the FailSafe device detects that the active

connection has failed, the Data Mover automatically switches to the surviving partner with the

same identity as the failed connection.

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The VNX‐CA (Continuous Availability) provides for increased application availability options with

the ability to transparently move application data between storage arrays or between data centers.

It provides the ability to scale capacity, IO throughput and performance, all accomplished non‐

disruptively.

VNX‐CA

is

based

on

the

VNX5400

and

leverages

EMC

VPLEX

technology.

EMC

VPLEX

allows

customers to move applications and data between VNX arrays within a data center or across data

centers without impacting hosts or users. VNX‐CA also supports Fibre Channel Block‐only

architecture.

The VNX‐CA use cases, in addition to addressing the continuous availability examples, include:

• Application and data mobility

• Non‐disruptive IT refreshes

• Load balancing within a VNX‐CA4 or between VNX‐CA’s

• Enhanced VMware capabilities across VNX‐CAs using vMotion, DRS, HA and/or FT

• Extend Oracle

RAC

over

distance

• Stretch other popular server clusters across VNX‐CA arrays

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VNX‐CA is available in two configurations:

• VNX‐CA2 (2 storage controllers) is the entry solution, with the intention of non‐disruptively

expanding with additional capacity, storage and performance. The VNX‐CA2 consists of one

VNX5400 (block‐only) with the appropriate capacity (up to 250 drives), one VPLEX engine with

two Fibre Channel switches

(that

are

internal

to

the

VNX

‐CA).

• VNX‐CA4 (4 storage controllers) is ideal for a continuously available storage architecture that

allows more storage to be virtualized and enables cross array mobility, workload balancing, and

uninterrupted maintenance on the array. This option offers optimal performance and capacity.

The VNX‐CA4 consists of two VNX5400’s (block‐only) with appropriate capacity (up to 500

drives), one VPLEX engine and two Fibre Channel switches (that are internal to the VNX‐CA).

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This lesson covers the storage efficiency features including Virtual Provisioning, Block Deduplication

and Compression, File Deduplication and Compression, File Level Retention (FLR), and User Quotas.

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VNX Virtual Provisioning improves storage capacity utilization by only allocating storage as needed.

File systems as well as LUNs can be logically sized to required capacities, and physically provisioned

with less capacity. This means storage need not sit idle in a file system or LUN until it is used.

VNX Virtual Provisioning safeguards allow users to keep a track of thinly provisioned file systems

and LUNs.

By

reporting

on

actual

physical

usage,

total

logical

size,

and

available

capacity,

administrators can both predict and set alerts to avoid running out of physical capacity.

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VNX with MCx architecture platforms, support Block level deduplication.

Deduplication of data happens at an 8KB block granularity and requires an 8KB mapping. It can be

set at the pool LUN level and Thin, Thick and Deduplicated LUNs can be stored in a single Pool. The

deduplication domain is the pool itself; deduplication does not take place across pools.

Deduplication occurs out

‐of

‐band

and

is

throttled

to

minimize

host

I/O

impact.

The Block Compression feature provides a further reduction of capacity savings initially provided

by Virtual Provisioning (compression requires Thin LUNs).

The Block Compression feature uses standard data compression algorithms to reduce space

allocated to LUNs. Block compression may be applied to Classic LUNs or Pool LUNs.

Block Compression operates in the background, while the LUNs are available for host access. All

compression and decompression processes are handled by VNX, so no server cycles are consumed

in the process, and no additional server software is required. When sufficient new data is written

to a compressed LUN, the system will automatically attempt to compress the uncompressed data

in the background.

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VNX also support file level deduplication and compression. VNX for File performs all deduplication

processing as a background, asynchronous operation that acts on file data after it has been written

into the file system. It does not process active data or data as it is written into the file system.

Deduplication activity can be throttled to avoid impact on processes serving client I/Os. Once

candidate files

have

been

identified

for

deduplication,

two

activities

take

place:

• Compression: Compression is accomplished by using components similar to those used in VNX for

block LUN compression.

• Deduplication: File‐level deduplication or single instancing is accomplished by using components

of another EMC product called Avamar which duplicates file identification algorithms (file

identification for single instance is accomplished using a hashing algorithm from Avamar).

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VNX File Level Retention is a capability available to VNX for File that protects files in a NAS

environment from modification and deletion until a user specified retention date. FLR enables

organizations to create a permanent unalterable set of files and directories and ensures the

integrity of the data. At the NAS level this effectively provides what is traditionally known as Write

Once Read Many (WORM) access within the VNX for File, and also includes tools to help users

manage FLR automatically.

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A quota is a limit placed on the number of allocated disk blocks and/or files that a user/group/tree

can have on a production file system (PFS). In other words, quotas provide a way of controlling the

amount of disk space and the number of files that a user/group/tree can consume. Quotas can be

managed via the VNX Control Station (CLI or GUI) or via Windows.

Limiting usage

is

not

the

only

application

of

quotas.

The

quota

tracking

capability

can

also

just

track

and report usage.

There are three types of implementation choices. They are hard quota, soft quota, and tracking.

Hard quota: Denies space on disk and generates an error when the quota is reached.

Soft quota: Offers a grace period before starting to deny space on disk.

Tracking: Disk usage is tracked, but no limits are imposed.

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VNX storage systems support an optional FAST Cache consisting of a storage pool of Flash disks

configured to function as FAST Cache. This cache provides low latency and high I/O performance

without requiring a large number of Flash disks. It is also expandable while I/O to and from the

storage system is occurring. The FAST Cache is based on the locality of reference of the data set. By

promoting the data set to the FAST Cache, the storage system services any subsequent requests for

this data faster from the Flash disks that make up the FAST Cache; thus, reducing the load on the

disks in the LUNs that contain the data (the underlying disks). FAST Cache consists of one or more

pairs of mirrored disks (RAID 1) and provides both read and write caching. For reads, the FAST

Cache driver copies data off the disks being accessed into the FAST Cache. For writes, FAST Cache

effectively buffers the data waiting to be written to disk. In both cases, the workload is off ‐loaded

from slow rotating disks to the faster Flash disks in FAST Cache. The performance boost provided by

FAST Cache varies with the workload and the cache size.

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VNX FAST VP tracks data in a Pool at a granularity of 256 MB – a slice – and ranks slices according

to their level of activity and how recent that activity took place. Slices that are heavily and

frequently accessed are moved to the highest tier of storage, typically Flash drives, while the data

that is accessed least are moved to lower performing, but higher capacity storage – typically NL‐

SAS drives.

This

sub

‐LUN

granularity

makes

the

process

more

efficient,

and

enhances

the

benefit

achieved from the addition of Flash drives.

The ranking process is automatic, and requires no user intervention. Relocation of slices occurs

according to a schedule which is user‐configurable, but which defaults to a daily relocation. Users

can also start a manual relocation if desired.

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This lesson covers the VNX local protection features that are used for protecting and repurposing

data. It includes an overview of VNX SnapSure (File), VNX Snapshot (Block), VNX SnapView (Block),

and RecoverPoint/SE CDP.

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VNX SnapSure is a Local Protection Suite software package that creates a point‐in‐time view of a

file system. Also SnapSure creates a checkpoint “file system” that is not a copy or a mirror image of

the original file system. Rather, the checkpoint “file system” is a view of what the production file

system looked like at a particular time.

VNX SnapSure saves

disk

space

and

time

by

allowing

multiple

snapshot

versions

of

a VNX

file

system. These logical views are called snapshots. SnapSure snapshots can be read‐only or

read/write.

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VNX Snapshot is a Local Protection Suite software package that improve the SnapView Snapshot

capabilities by better integrating with pools. VNX Snapshots is a point‐in‐time copy of a source LUN

using redirect on first write methodology.

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VNX SnapView is a software product that run on the VNX. SnapView creates block‐based logical

point‐in‐time views of production information using snapshots and point‐in‐time copies using

clones. Snapshots use only a fraction of the original disk space, while clones require the same

amount of disk space as the source. SnapView allows multiple business processes to have

concurrent, parallel access to information.

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RecoverPoint allows users to recover applications using DVR‐like rollback to any point in time

without impact to the production application or to ongoing protection. RecoverPoint CDP is a

continuous synchronous product that mirrors SAN volumes in real time between one or more

arrays at a local site. RecoverPoint CDP maintains a history journal of all changes that can be used

to roll back the mirrors to any point in time.

RecoverPoint/SE is appliance‐based, which enables it to better support large amounts of

information stored across a heterogeneous server and storage environment.

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This lesson covers the VNX remote protection features that are used to protect data from localized

failures, outages, and disasters. It includes an overview of SAN Copy, VNX MirrorView (Block), VNX

Replicator (File), and RecoverPoint/SE CRR.

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SAN Copy allows fast bulk transfer of data between EMC VNX storage systems, or between VNX

and CLARiiON or Symmetrix systems (other vendor systems are not discussed here). The (full

mode) SAN Copy Source LUN is likely to be a point in time copy because of the way SAN Copy

functions when full data copies are used. If Incremental mode is used, then the source LUN may be

the production LUN, and can be online.

SAN Copy requires no special software to be loaded on the peer storage systems.

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MirrorView is a storage system‐based software that provides a replication solution for FC or iSCSI

host environments. It can be implemented in a synchronous mode or an asynchronous mode

depending on RTO (Recovery Time Objective) and replication distance requirements. MirrorView

mirroring is used for Disaster Recovery.

After a disaster,

MirrorView lets

data

processing

operations

resume

with

minimal

overhead.

MirrorView enables a quick recovery by creating and maintaining a copy of the data on another

storage system.

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VNX Replicator is an IP‐based replication solution that produces a read‐only, point‐in‐time copy of

a source file system. The VNX Replicator service periodically updates this copy, making it consistent

with the production file system. Replicator uses internal checkpoints to ensure availability of the

most recent point‐in‐time copy. These internal checkpoints are based on SnapSure technology. This

read‐only replica can be used by a Data Mover in the same VNX cabinet (local replication), or an

Data Mover at a remote site (remote replication) for content distribution, backup and application

testing.

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RecoverPoint/SE CRR (Continuous Remote Replication) — is a comprehensive data protection

solution that provides bi‐directional synchronous and asynchronous replication. RecoverPoint/SE

CRR allows users to recover applications remotely to any significant point in time without impact to

the production operations.

When an

application

server

issues

a write

to

a LUN

that

is

being

protected

by

RecoverPoint,

this

write is duplicated by an array splitter running in the VNX storage processor or optionally on the

application host. The VNX array will intercept all writes to LUNs being protected by RecoverPoint,

and will send a copies to the RecoverPoint appliance. In all cases, the original write travels though

its normal path to the production LUN.

Once the appliance receives the write, redundant blocks are eliminated, the writes are sequenced

and stored with their corresponding time stamp information. The package is then compressed, and

sent across the IP network to the remote appliance. At remote site the data is uncompressed and

written to the journal volume. Once the data has been written to the journal volume, it is

distributed to the remote volumes, ensuring that write‐order sequence is preserved.

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This lesson covers the VNX additional features and functions including VPLEX – Continuous

Operations, Network Data Management (NDMP) protocol backup, EMC Common Event Enabler,

and Host Encryption.

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By leveraging VNX with VPLEX, which allows the administrator to have the exact same information

in two separate locations accessible at the same time from both locations, companies can achieve

improved levels of continuous operations, non‐disruptive migrations/technology refresh, and

higher availability of their infrastructure.

VPLEX with

VNX

transparently

relocates

data

and

applications

over

distance,

protects

the

data

center against disaster, and enables efficient data mobility between sites. VPLEX allows load

balancing across two VNX arrays. Extend local VMware functionality beyond a single VNX array and

extend Oracle RAC and other clusters over distance (VPLEX is the only solution certified by VMware

and Oracle.) VPLEX allows to organizations deliver on an active/active VNX data access strategy

over distance.

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VNX supports NDMP (Network Data Management Protocol) which is an industry‐standard TCP/IP‐

based protocol specifically designed for backup in a NAS environment. NDMP allows an

administrator to control the backup and recovery of an NDMP server through a network backup

application, without installing third‐party software on the server. It communicates with several

elements in the backup environment (NAS head, backup devices, backup server, etc.) for data

transfer and enables vendors to use a common protocol for the backup architecture. Data can be

backed up using NDMP regardless of the operating system or platform.

On VNX, the Data Mover functions as the NDMP server. NDMP separates the control and data

transfer components of a backup or restore operation. The actual backups are handled by the Data

Mover, which minimizes network traffic.

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CEE (Common Event Enabler) is a capability available to VNX for File that provides an integration

point between best of breed third party storage management application tools and VNX for File

(NAS). In essence, CEE provides an alerting facility such that third party applications can take

actions against NAS client activities on the VNX.

EMC VNX

Antivirus

Agent

provides

an

Antivirus

solution

to

clients

using

a VNX

system.

It

uses

an

industry‐standard CIFS protocol in a Microsoft Windows Server domain as well as supporting

Windows clients. The Antivirus agent uses third‐party antivirus software to identify and eliminate

known viruses before they infect files on the storage system.

The EMC Common Event Enabler (CEE) was formerly know as VNX Event Enabler (VEE).

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VNX Host Encryption provides data encryption at the storage‐device level to protect data from

unauthorized access or from the removal of a disk drive or array from a secured environment. It

makes use of PowerPath Encryption technology and leverages RSA Key Manager to centrally

manage and automate encryption keys. PowerPath Encryption is a host‐based data‐at‐rest

encryption

that

utilizes

PowerPath and

RSA

Key

Manager

for

the

Datacenter

to

protect

customers against unauthorized access or inadvertent loss of unprotected information.

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This module covered the VNX features, capabilities, and software suites and packs.

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This module provides an overview of basic VNX management options and list the peripheral

products associated with VNX.

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This lesson covers VNX management Suite offerings. Additionally, it also covers EMC

ProSphere, which is cloud management software to manage VNX in virtual and cloud

environments.

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EMC Unisphere provides a flexible, integrated experience for managing VNX storage systems.

Unisphere’s wizards help the user to provision and manage the storage while automatically

implementing best practices for the configuration.

Unisphere is completely web‐enabled for remote management of the storage environment.

Unisphere Management

Server

runs

on

the

SPs

and

the

Control

Station.

Administrative users must authenticate to the VNX when using Unisphere. The VNX provides

flexible options for administrative user accounts. For deployments where the VNX will be

administered by multiple people, the VNX offers the ability for creating multiple unique

administrative accounts. Different administrative roles can be defined for the user accounts to

distribute different administrative tasks for the users.

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Administration of the VNX system can also be performed with a command line interface (CLI).

Administrative users must authenticate to the VNX when using CLI interface as well. Block enabled

systems have a host‐based Secure CLI software option available for block administrative tasks. The

CLI can be used to automate management functions through shell scripts and batch files. The

Navisphere Secure CLI is a client application that allows simple operations on the EMC VNX Series

platform and some other legacy storage systems.

File enabled VNX systems use a command line interface to the Control Station for file

administrative tasks. If VNX for File or Unified is present, then it can be connected to it via serial or

SSH to troubleshoot many VNX for File hardware components.

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Unisphere Remote is software that provides centralized multi‐box monitoring of hundreds of VNX

systems whether they reside in a data center or are deployed in remote and branch offices. It gives

users the ability to monitor the health and alerts of large numbers of VNX systems from a central

console. Unisphere Remote is a virtual appliance that runs in a VMware virtual environment.

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Unisphere Analyzer is the VNX performance analysis tool. Unisphere Analyzer is an application to

help identify bottlenecks and hotspots in VNX storage systems, and enable users to evaluate and

fine‐tune the performance of their VNX system.

Data may be collected by the storage system, or by a Windows host, running the appropriate

software, in

the

environment.

Different

performance

metrics

are

collected

from

disks,

Storage

Processors, LUNs, cache, and SnapView snapshot sessions. Data may be displayed in real‐time, or

for later analysis, saved as a .nar (Unisphere Archive) file.

For File based detailed monitoring, users have access to the native monitoring capability of

Unisphere for File and additional monitoring is available for the VNX for File components in the

separately licensed Data Protection Advisor for File Server offering that provides detailed reporting

not only on replication configurations but VNX for File in general.

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Unisphere Quality of Service Manager (UQM) measures, monitors, and controls application

performance on the VNX storage system. UQM can be a powerful tool for evaluating the storage

system to determine the current service levels and to provide guidance on what service levels are

possible, given the specific environment.

UQM may

be

managed

by

Unisphere

GUI,

Secure

CLI,

or

Unisphere

Client.

Because UQM is array resident, there is no host component to load, and no performance impact on

the host.

UQM controls array performance by allocating resources to user‐defined classes of I/O. This

resource allocation allows the specified I/O classes to meet pre‐defined performance goals.

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VNX Monitoring and Reporting is a cost effective software solution. Accessible from a web portal

it has a tree view format that drills down into several summary or filtered views. VNX Monitoring

and Reporting is a limited version of Watch4Net for VNX. It provides basic monitoring and reporting

capabilities for VNX administrators. VNX Monitoring and Reporting automatically collects block and

file storage statistics along with configuration data, and stores them into a database that can be

viewed from dashboards and reports. Watch4Net offers a custom report development framework

extending the preconfigured VNX reports and creates new reports to meet specific reporting needs.

It provides real‐time, historical and projected visibility into network, data center, storage and cloud

infrastructure performance. Users who have more complex environments, or more complex needs,

can use Watch4net or upgrade to Watch4net.

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EMC ProSphere is cloud storage management software designed to monitor and analyze storage

services across the virtual infrastructure. ProSphere can collect resource and performance data for

EMC Symmetrix, VNX and CLARiiON storage arrays.

ProSphere's federated architecture aggregates information across sites to simplify the management

between data

centers

from

a single

console.

ProSphere

is

managed

from

a web

browser

to

allow

easy access over the Internet for remote management.

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This lesson covers the integration between the automation tools for virtualized and application

environment and VNX management.

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EMC AppSync protects virtualized Microsoft applications in EMC VNX (block) environments. It is

designed to provide better management of protection and replication for critical applications and

databases. EMC’s advanced technology – snapshots and continuous data protection – enable

instant, granular restores and zero data loss replication and can be managed from a central location

using EMC AppSync.

Replication Manager is a tool designed to automate the creation, management, and use of EMC

point‐in‐time replicas (snapshots, clones, mirrors). No scripting is required. Replication Manager

auto‐discovers the environment (application host, associated storage, and underlying replication

technology) and enables easy point‐and‐click management by integrating the technology stack

from the application to the storage and replicas.

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EMC Storage Integrator (ESI) for Windows is a tool targeted at Windows and Microsoft

applications administrators. ESI for Windows provides storage viewing and provisioning capabilities.

ESI also enables the user to create a file share and mount that file share as a network attached

drive in the Windows environment.

ESI supports

the

EMC

VNX

series,

the

EMC

VNXe series,

EMC

CLARiiON,

the

EMC

Symmetrix VMAX

and the EMC Symmetrix VMAXe.

ESI supports Hyper‐v virtual disks in release 1.3.

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VMware vSphere Storage APIs (Application Programming Interface) Array Integration (VAAI) is a

storage integration feature that increases virtual machine scalability. VAAI consists of a set of APIs

that allows vSphere to offload specific host operations to EMC storage arrays. These are supported

with VMFS (Virtual Machine File System) and RDM (Raw Device Mapping) volumes.

VAAI for

SAN enables

very

tight

integration

between

the

VNX

platform

and

VMware

vSphere.

VAAI

for NAS minimizes the impact of high I/O virtualization tasks on ESXi hosts.

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Storage Analytics for VNX is a standalone software product that comprises of a light version of

VMware vCenter Operations Manager Enterprise tool and the EMC Adapter for VNX.

VMware vCenter Operations Manager provides automated operations management using patented

analytics and an integrated approach to performance, capacity and configuration management. The

EMC Adapter

for

VNX

is

bundled

with

a connector

that

enables

vCenter Operations

Manager

to

collect performance and capacity metrics, and proactive information to help administrators make

informed decisions, heat maps etc.

Virtual Storage Integrator (VSI) is a plug‐in to the VMware vCenter management software. It

allows the VMware administrator to provision, monitor, and manage VMware vSphere datastores

on EMC storage arrays directly from vCenter, simplifying management of the virtualized

environment. VSI empowers VM administrators to view storage and VMware performance metrics

from a single view.

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VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager (SRM) automates VMware site failover. It is integrated

with vCenter and EMC Storage Arrays and managed through a vCenter client plug‐in.

SRM leverages the data replication capabilities of the underlying storage system through an

interface called a Storage Replication Adapter (SRA). SRM supports SRAs for VNX Replicator, VNX

MirrorView, and

EMC

RecoverPoint.

Each EMC SRA is a software package that enables SRM to implement disaster recovery for virtual

machines by using VNX storage arrays that run replication software. SRA‐specific scripts support

array discovery, replicated LUN discovery, test failover‐failback, and actual failover. Disaster

recovery plan provides the interface to define failover policies for virtual machines running on NFS,

VMFS, and RDM storage.

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This module covered the native VNX management options, the additional options for managing

VNX and the peripheral products associated with VNX.

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