HP File System Extender (FSE) manual Configuring FSE, Before you start

3 Configuring FSE

This chapter includes the following topics:

•Before you start, page 37

•Configuration basics, page 38

•Configuration procedure, page 60

•Reconfiguring FSE interprocess communication, page 83

•Changing the IP address of an FSE host, page 89

Before you start

FSE provides effective management of your data with its extended virtual disk storage, which is controlled by user-defined policies. Although operating FSE is transparent, you need to think ahead and analyze your needs in order to configure your environment most efficiently.

The following list introduces the most common choices that you need to make in advance.

•Analyze your environment: determine which file systems need to be under FSE control.

•Analyze the types of data stored in your environment and sort the data logically according to the following characteristics:

•Which files need to be migrated (archived)?

•Will such files be used again for write operations or will they be treated as read-only?

•Which of these files need additional (redundant) migrated copies?

•What will be the approximate or average size of files stored on an FSE partition?

•What will be the estimated maximum number of files that will be stored on an FSE partition?

•Will certain files become redundant after a period of time and can therefore eventually be deleted to free space on the file system?

•Will certain files have to be deleted after some period of time due to legal requirements?

Note that these characteristics and how you apply them in your policies can significantly influence the performance of the FSE implementation. For example, data that needs frequent archiving will put a significant load on your system because of the constant migrations. On the other hand, data that you will only use for read-only purposes demands only one migration and many recalls and releases, resulting in a reduced amount of media, and reduced impact on FSE implementation performance.

•Regarding file expiration, consider the following points:

•Will certain files need to be deleted from FSE partitions after a period of time, due to legal requirements?

•How many migrated file generations will be treated as valid, or how long will they need to be stored on FSE media?

•Determine the number of available drives. In a setup with tape as the only secondary media, the number of available drives will limit the number of migrations and recalls that can be performed in parallel on the FSE implementation. It will also limit the number of copies that can be made in parallel.

•Decide on the number and individual characteristics of your FSE partitions; consider the previously determined data characteristics for each partition. Note that each FSE partition has its own media pools assigned and is located on a separate HSM file system.

•Decide which backup destination will be used for backing up the FSE server in your FSE implementation.

•If tape will be a selected backup destination, create a special media pool for storage of FSE backup images. You will need to decide how often do you want to perform FSE backup and whether backup FSE media will be reused. Backup FSE media pool should contain enough storage space to support executing your backup policy, and must be initialized before use.

•If disk will be a selected backup destination, decide where the backup images will be stored. Ensure that the backup image repository has enough storage space to support your backup policy.

HP StorageWorks File System Extender Software user guide 37