Important NotesIn this topic:
Viewing template details and list
Also see:
Creating Virtual Disks for instructions on creating virtual disks from templates.
A virtual disk template is used to duplicate properties and settings in order to create virtual disks in a standardized fashion. The template contains all basic properties of a virtual disk, including storage sources to use, as well as settings for features and System Health thresholds. Templates can be used to create virtual disks that uniformly fulfill the requirements of applications they are intended to support.
Virtual disk templates are also used by the DataCore VASA Provider and DataCore Storage Management Provider in provisioning SANsymphony storage resources for virtual machines.
Important Notes
o Virtual disks created from a template are independent of that template.
· Editing a template will not effect existing virtual disks.
· The properties and settings of virtual disks created from a template can be changed after creation.
o Objects in SANsymphony (such as DataCore Servers, pools and storage profiles) may not be deleted if used in a virtual disk template; templates must be deleted or changed first. Pool names cannot be changed if used in a template.
o Templates in use by the DataCore VASA Provider are automatically set to read-only, prohibiting any changes to the template. Read-only templates can be viewed in the Templates List and the read-only designation will be indicated under the icon in the Virtual Disk Template details page.
o Templates do not currently support the creation of 3-copy virtual disks, see Dynamic Data Resiliency for more information.
Virtual disks created from a template will adopt all properties and settings in that template.
Templates are created with default values for virtual disk System Health thresholds. After templates are created, the thresholds, as well as other properties and settings, may be changed in the Virtual Disk Template Details page.
To create a virtual disk template:
1 In the Home tab of the ribbon, click Virtual Disk Templates.
2 In the Virtual Disk Template list, click Create Virtual Disk Template.
3 In the Create Virtual Disk Template dialog box, enter or select the following:
a Name of the template.
b Virtual
disk prefix - enter the base name of the virtual disks.
When
creating multiple virtual disks; default names will be assigned beginning
with the prefix entered and subsequent virtual disks will have a number
appended to make the name unique in the server group. Numbers will be
incremented by 1, skipping any names that already exist in the configuration.
For instance, if the prefix entered is MirrorVdisk,
names will be MirrorVdisk, MirrorVdisk 1, MirrorVdisk 2,
and so on.
c Description of the virtual disks. This field is optional.
d Redundant
mirror paths - select the check box to create redundant mirror paths for
mirrored virtual disks. Two mirror paths going in each direction between
DataCore Servers
will be created. Port paths are automatically selected.
This setting requires each server
to have two available FC or iSCSI ports with the mirror role enabled.
(This setting is
not available when system managed mirroring
is enabled.)
e Write through enabled - select the check box to put virtual disks in write-through mode. (Write operations are written directly to the back-end storage and then acknowledged.)
f Storage profile - the default setting is Normal, select a different storage profile, if required. (See Storage Profiles for more information.)
g Virtual disk size - enter the size of the virtual disks.
h Sector size - select either 512 B or 4 KB for Advanced Format. (See 4 KB Sector Support for more information.)
i Reserved
space - the optional Reserved space
field can be used to reserve space in the pool to be used exclusively
for the virtual disks. The value entered is a percentage of the total
disk size.
For example if the virtual
disk size is 100 GB and the reserved space is 50%, then 50 GB will be
reserved in the pool for each virtual disk created from the template.
Sufficient amounts of reserved space must be free (not in reclamation)
in the pool in order to create the virtual disks. (See Disk
Pools for more information on reserved space.)
j Storage sources
i For single virtual disks, select the first DataCore Server and first disk pool.
ii For mirrored virtual disks, select the first and second DataCore Servers and the first and second disk pools. Mirrored virtual disks require two different storage sources from two DataCore Servers.
iii For dual virtual disks, select the first and second DataCore Servers. These servers must share the same pool. Select the same shared pool for the first and second disk pool. Dual virtual disks require one storage source shared by two DataCore Servers.
k Expand Advanced Options to include settings for additional virtual disk features, if required.
i Preferred Snapshot Pool - select the DataCore Server and disk pool to use as the preferred pool when creating snapshots. (See Snapshot Operations for more information.)
ii Sequential Storage (Random Write Accelerator) - select the check box to enable this feature. (See Sequential Storage for more information.)
iii Continuous Data Protection - select the check box to enable this feature. (See Continuous Data Protection (CDP) for more information.)
1 In DataCore Server, select the server on which the history log should reside.
2 In Disk Pool, select the pool to use to create the history log.
3 In Maximum history log size, select
the maximum size.
The maximum history log size can range from a minimum of 8 GB to a size
equal to the size of the virtual disk. The default setting is 8 GB. The
history log will begin destaging the oldest data changes when the maximum
history log size is encroached.
4 Click Create to complete the operation.
Editing a template does not change the properties of existing virtual disks created from the template.
To edit a template:
1 In the Home tab of the ribbon, click Virtual Disk Templates.
2 In the list, double-click the template to edit. Tip
3 In the Virtual Disk Template Details, click Edit in the upper-right corner.
4 Make changes to the template.
5 Click Apply.
Deleting a template removes the template from the configuration, but does not delete the virtual disks created from the template.
Templates
in use by the DataCore VASA Provider
are automatically set to read-only,
prohibiting any changes to the template. Contact DataCore Technical Support
for assistance in deleting a template associated with a VVOL.
To delete a template:
1 In the Home tab of the ribbon, click Virtual Disk Templates.
2 In the list, right-click the template to delete and select Delete from the context menu.
To view a list of all templates in the configuration:
In the Home tab of the ribbon, click Virtual Disk Templates to open the Virtual Disk Template list.
To view details of a virtual disk template:
Double-click a template in the Virtual Disk Template list to open the Virtual Disk Template Details page.