HPSS Installation Guide September 2002 39
Release 4.5, Revision 2
Chapter 2 HPSS Planning

2.1 Overview

This chapter provides HPSS planning guidelines and considerations to help the administrator
effectively plan, and make key decisions about, an HPSS system. Topics include:
Requirements and Intended Usages for HPSS on page 43
Prerequisite Software Considerations on page 46
Hardware Considerations on page 53
HPSS Interface Considerations on page 58
HPSS Server Considerations on page 62
Storage Subsystem Considerations on page 81
Storage Policy Considerations on page 81
Storage Characteristics Considerations on page 91
HPSS Sizing Considerations on page 105
HPSS Performance Considerations on page 135
HPSS Metadata Backup Considerations on page 142
The planning process for HPSS must be done carefully to ensure that the resulting system
satisfies the site’s requirements and operates in an efficient manner. We recommend that the
administrator read the entire document before planning the system.
The following paragraphs describe the recommended planning steps for the HPSS installation,
configuration, and operational phases.

2.1.1 HPSS Configuration Planning

Beforebeginning the planning process, there is an important issue to consider. HPSS handles large
files much better than it does small files. If at all possible, try to reduce the number of small files