Volumes

An application instance is a namespace for logical volumes. Within the context of an application instance, you can create and implement the storage according to your needs. The applications volumes set of commands allows you to create, edit, list, and delete volumes in the context of an application instance.

Creating a logical volume

A logical volume (virtual disk) is a set of blocks viewed by the operating environment as a single disk-like storage unit. Typically, logical volumes get their blocks from physical drives. In the S1 system, logical volumes get their blocks from pools. First, you need to define pools; and then you allow the pools to use the physical drives (approve drives for pools). Thus, pools get their storage from physical disks and provide this storage (blocks) to the volumes. When you create a logical volume, you must specify an application instance for the logical volume. To list all application instances, run the applications list command. To create new logical volume, pick one application instance and use the applications volumes create command.

Notice: We use the terms volume and logical volume interchangeably.

Usage:

applications volumes create --application=<app_name>
    --volume=<vol_name>
	--capacity=<capacity>
	--pools=<pname…> --n=<n> --k=<k>
	[(--metadataPools=<mt_name…> --metadataN=<n…> --metadataK=<k…>)]
	[(--tierPools=<tname…> --tierN=<n…> --tierK=<k…>)]
	[(--tierSizes=<tierCapacity…> --evacuationThresholds=<percent…> --lowerThresholds=<percent…>)]
	[--groupedVolume=<name> | --cgid=<numbers> | (--encryptionKey=<encryptionKey> [--saveEncryptedRecoveryKey])]
	[--sectorSize=<sectorSize>]
	[--log2StrideSectors=<numbers>]
	[--snapshotCapacity=<capacity>]
	[--enableSnapone]
	[--disableSpaceReclamation]

Options

The applications volumes create usage pattern is long. It has six required options and 18 optional options.

Required

Notice:

• You can list all the available app instances with the applications list command.
• You can create a new application instance with the applications create command.

Optional

Metadata options

Tiering options:

• A pool can be on the upper tier if all its approved volumes are SSD drives.
• When setting an upper tier, all of the drives already specified in the --pool option will be on the lower tier.

Map a volume to existing Consistency groups

A consistency group (CG) is a collection of volumes that forms a single storage entity (sharing the same data retention: primary and redundant data). The S1 system generates consistency groups automatically; users cannot create or delete consistency groups. When creating a new volume, you may specify whether to map it to an existing consistency group. If you map a newly created volume to a consistency group, the system does not create a new consistency group for the logical volume. If you do not add volume to a CG, the system automatically creates a new consistency group for this volume. Once the logical volume is assigned to a CG, the assignment becomes immutable.
To map a newly created volume to an existing consistency group, use either the --groupedVolume option or the --cgid option.

Notice: An S1 system with no volumes has no consistency groups. Thus, when you create your first volume, do not use the --groupedVolume or the --cgid options.

Encrypting a Volume

NOTICE: Encrypting your volume is optional and must be handled with great care. If you opt to encrypt your volume and lose the volume encryption key, you will not be able to use your logical volume.

S1 supports both software-based encryption and self-encrypting drives (SED). If you use SED, every time you reboot, S1 will ask you for your SED key.
IMPORTANT:
If you do not supply S1 with the SED key, you will not be able to use any of the volumes or CGs that use this drive.
For instance, you may have five different logical volumes spread on the same six drives. If one of these drives uses SED encryption and you don’t supply S1 with its SED key, then you cannot use any of these five volumes.

Unlike SED encryption, S1 software-based encryption allows you to encrypt per volume. Using standard encryption algorithms, you can encrypt a single logical volume with a volume encryption key of your choice. Volume encryption is optional. If you encrypt a logical volume, make sure that you save the volume encryption key. You will be asked for the volume encryption key every time S1 boots. If you fail to supply S1 with the volume encryption key, you won’t be able to use that one volume.

To prevent losing a volume due to losing the volume-encryption-key, StorOne offers you an option to store your volume encryption key safely with StorOne. This way, StorOne can help you to recover a volume encryption key when needed. When you use the --saveEncryptedRecoveryKey option, your volume-encryption-key is encrypted with StorOne’s public key and stored in your S1 management relay station database.

Notice: When you encrypt a volume V0, you encrypt its consistency group (CG). Hence, any volume you add to this consistency group will be encrypted. The encryption key is the key you used when creating volume V0.

Sector size

Options and arguments	Description
--sectorSize=<sectorSize>	To set the sector size of the volume; replace <sectorsize> with either 512 bytes or 4KB. If storing on an ESX server, use 512 bytes; on any other storage platform, use 4KB.
--log2StrideSectors=<numbers>	To set a volume, replace <number> with the stripe unit (chunk size) in bytes.

Snapshots and space reclamation

• The --snapshotCapacity option allows you to set a soft capacity threshold limit on your volume snapshot storage. When your snapshot storage exceeds the soft threshold limit, you will receive warning notices and alerts in your email. Unlike a hard capacity limit, which you cannot exceed. A soft capacity threshold limit only warns the user.
• The --enableSnapone option activates StorOne vSnap technology on the volume. vSnap technology stores significantly more snapshots in the same storage capacity. vSnap tiers old snapshots automatically, saving storage resources without impacting performance. Having more snapshots on the same storage capacity reduces the risk of data loss. vSnap snapshots are redirect-on-write (ROW) policy-based snapshots. They are invisible to any external application until specifically restored. Hence, vSnap snapshots are more protected from ransomware and malware attacks.

Examples

1. To create a volume videos on application instance training with a capacity of 500GB over a pool sales with n=16 data fragments and k=3 data redundancy, run

   applications volumes create --application training --volume videos  --capacity 500GB --pools sales --n=16 --k=3 
   

   In this example, volume videos has not mapped to any consistency group. Thus, S1 automatically creates a new consistency group for volume videos.

2. Create a volume emails with the following configuration:

   • Application instance: --application=archives
   • Volume capacity: --capacity=100GB
   • Volume created over two pools, HR and sales, where:
     • For pool HR with n=4 data fragments and k=1 data redundancy.
     • For pool sales with n=8 data fragments and k=3 data redundancy.
   • Pools for upper tiers speed1, speed2, and speed3:
     where:
     • For upper tier pool speed1, tierN=2 data fragments and tierK=1 data redundancy with --tierSizes=10GB, with --evacuationThresholds=70% and --lowerThresholds=5%.
     • For upper tier pool speed2, tierN=16 data fragments and tierK=3 data redundancy with --tierSizes=5GB, with --evacuationThresholds=75% and --lowerThresholds=10%.
     • For upper tier pool speed3, tierN=4 data fragments and tierK=1 data redundancy, and --tierSizes=2GB, with --evacuationThresholds=80% and --lowerThresholds=15%
   • The volume is mapped to (an already existing) consistency group id 600.

   applications volumes create --application emails --volume archives --capacity 100GB --pools HR sales --n 4 8 --k 1 3 --tierPools speed1 speed2 speed3 --tierN 2 16 4 --tierK 1 3 1 --tierSizes 10GB 5GB 2GB --evacuationThresholds 70% 75% 80% --lowerThresholds 5% 10% 15% --cgid 600   
   

Edit a volume

You can change the configurations of existing volumes with the applications volume edit command.

Usage

applications volumes edit --application=<app_name> --volume=<vol_name> [--newname=<new_vol_name> --capacity=<capacity> --snapshotCapacity=<capacity> --tierSizes=<tierCapacity…> --evacuationThresholds=<percentage…> --lowerThresholds=<percentage…> (--enableSnapone | --disableSnapone) (--enableSpaceReclamation | --disableSpaceReclamation)]

Options

Examples

In the following examples, we edit the volume archives mapped to application instance emails.

1. To rename the existing volume archives to active and to change its capacity to 800GB, run:

   applications volumes edit --application emails --volume archives --rename active --capacity 800GB
   

2. To change the capacity of the existing volume archives to 3TB and to disable SnapONE, run:

   applications volumes edit --application emails --volume archives  --capacity 3TB --disableSnapone 
   

3. Assuming that the existing volume archives is tiered between three pools, consider the following list of changes:

   • Change the capacity of the volume to 10TB
   • Change tier sizes to 10GB, 4GB, and 2GB.
   • Enable SnapONE.
   • Enable space reclamation. To apply the above changes on the existing volume archives, run:

   applications volume edit --application emails --volume archives --capacity 10TB --tiersizes 10GB 4GB 2GB 
       --enableSpaceReclamation --enableSnapone 
   

List volumes

To list volumes, use the applications volumes list command.

Usage:

applications volumes list [--application=<app_inst> --volume=<vol>] [--basic] [--cg] [--snapshot]
[--connectivity] [--capacity] [--fs] [--rep] [--vms]

Options:

Examples

1. To list all volumes, run:

   applications volumes list
   

2. To list volumes from the emails application, run:

   applications volumes list --application emails
   

3. To list only the name and id of volume SR, run:

   applications volumes list --volume SR --basic
   

Delete a volume

To delete a volume, use the applications volumes delete command.

Usage:

applications volumes delete --application=<app_name> --volume=<vol_name> [--force]

Options:

Examples

1. To delete volume speed that mapped to application instance archive, run:

    applications volumes delete --application archive --volume speed 
   

2. To delete volume speed that mapped to application instance archive without prompting for confirmation, run:

    applications volumes delete --application archive --volume speed