Chapter 3. HPSS Planning3.1. Overview
This chapter provides HPSS planning guidelines and considerations to help the administr ator
effectively plan, and make key decisions about, an HPSS system.
The planning process for HPSS must be done carefully to ensure that the resultin g system
satisfies the site’s requirements and operates in an efficient manner. We recommend that the
administrator read this entire chapter before planning the system.
The following paragraphs describe the recommended planning steps for the HPSS installation,
configuration, and operational phases.
3.1.1. HPSS System Architectu re
Before getting into the details of storage sizing, it is best to understand the overall HPSS system and
how the components are arranged to build the HSM. Figure 4: HPSS Generic Configuration on page
52 shows the basic architecture of an HPSS system including disk and tape resources and thei r
relationship to HPSS server nodes, Mover nodes, internal and external networks, and SAN
interconnections. Specifics of this architecture for a given site are developed during the proposal and
initial project planning stages of a deployment. Ideally the required space is derived fr om
requirements gathered from the HPSS Questionnaire document, known operational constraints,
transfer and transaction rates, and anticipated storage capacity needs. Often the disk and tape
resources are dictated by current equipment already available and budgetary constraints on what can
be purchased. Specific quantities and sizing of these resource are beyond the s cope of this planning
document. These are largely defined by the above inputs and negotiations during the initial planning
meeting in which the systems engineering team draws from experience and similar deployments to
design a working architecture that balances the end-user requirements with the potential , or actual,
resources available.
HPSS Installation Guide July 2008
Release 6.2 (Revision 2.0) 51