Create a Volume
When the Xsan setup assistant finishes basic SAN configuration, it asks if you want to
create a volume.
To create a volume:
1
In the “Create Volume” pane, select “Create a volume now” and click Continue.
If you want to create volumes later, follow the instructions in “Adding a Volume to a
SAN” on page 53.
2
In the “Volume Name and Type” pane, enter a name for the volume and choose a
volume type that matches the type of work the volume will support.
For the volume name, use only uppercase letters (A–Z), lowercase letters (a–z),
numbers (0–9), and underscores ( _ ). Don’t include spaces or hyphens. The maximum
length is 70 characters.
The volume type you choose determines how the setup assistant configures affinity
tags and storage pools on the volume. For information, see “How Xsan Storage Is
Organized” on page 16.
Optionally, click Advanced Settings and adjust the following volume settings:
Block Allocation Size: If you’re not sure what value to use, use the preset size or see
“Setting the Block Allocation Size” on page 59.
Allocation Strategy: Choose how storage for files is allocated among the storage
pools that belong to the volume. If you choose Round Robin, each request for space is
assigned to the next available storage pool in turn. If you choose Fill, space is allocated
on the first storage pool until it’s full, then on the second storage pool, and so on.
If you choose Balance, space is allocated on the storage pool with the most free space.
For more information, see “Choosing an Allocation Strategy” on page 31.
46
Chapter 3
Setting Up a Storage Area Network
Chapter 3
Setting Up a Storage Area Network
47
Spotlight: Enable this if you want Macintosh clients to search the contents of the
volume using Spotlight.
Extended Attributes: Select this option if all computers on your SAN are running
Xsan 2.2 and you want to ensure the best possible performance by storing related
information for each file inside the file itself instead of in separate hidden files.
This option is enabled by default if the SAN consists of all Xsan 2.2 systems.
Access Control Lists: Leave this enabled if you want to use access control lists to
control access to the volume and its contents.
Windows ID Mapping: If you have Windows clients on your SAN, choose how they
map user and group information to the Xsan-compatible user IDs and group IDs they
need to access this volume. For more information, see “Mapping Windows User and
Group IDs” on page 78.
3
In the Configure Volume Affinities pane (or the Configure Volume Storage pane,
if you’re configuring a custom volume type), drag LUNs from the left column to the
corresponding affinity tag (or custom storage pool) in the right column.
a
Drag the special metadata LUN you created (in Step 6, “Create a Metadata Array”) to
the MetadataAndJournal affinity tag (or custom storage pool).
b
Drag your other LUNs to the other affinity tags (or storage pools). To avoid
wasting storage, all LUNs assigned to an affinity tag (or storage pool) should be
the same size.
c
When you finish, click Continue.
For information about the optimal number of LUNs to assign to an affinity tag,
see “Assigning LUNs to Affinity Tags” on page 29.
4
Optionally, you can select an affinity tag and click Settings to change the affinity tag
name or other settings listed below. If you’re creating a custom volume, you can select
it and click Storage Pool Settings to change the storage pool name or other settings
listed below.
Affinity Tag (or Storage Pool Name): Enter the name for the affinity tag (or custom
storage pool). If the OK button is disabled when you finish entering the name, the
name is reserved; try another. For a list of reserved names, see Chapter 8, “Solving SAN
Problems.”
Use for: Choose the types of data that can be stored on storage pools that have this
affinity tag (or that can be stored on the custom storage pool). If the “Only data with
affinity” checkbox is disabled, this might be the only storage pool in the volume that
can store user data without an affinity. You must have at least one storage pool that
isn’t exclusive, that is, a storage pool that can store user data that has no affinity.
Stripe Breadth: Specify how much data is written to or read from each LUN in storage
pools that have this affinity tag (or each LUN in the custom storage pool) before
moving to the next LUN. This value can affect performance. If you’re not sure what
value to use, accept the preset value.
5
If the Volume Failover Priority pane appears, arrange the list so as few SAN volumes as
possible have the same metadata controller first on their failover priority lists, and then
click Continue.
6
In the Setup Complete pane, click Continue.
Xsan Admin displays a summary of your SAN configuration and the new volume is
mounted and ready to use in the Finder on all clients and metadata controllers.
For information about creating additional volumes, see “Adding a Volume to a SAN” on
page 53.
Step 10: