Smart Tiers; Tiers Concept - HP XP7 User Manual

Smart Tiers

After using Thin Provisioning software to virtualize LUs and pool storage into a thin provisioning
strategy, the array now has all the elements in place to offer automatic self-optimizing storage tiers
provided by Smart Tiers. Using Smart Tiers, you can configure a storage system with multiple
storage tiers using different kinds of data drives, including SSD, SAS, and external volumes. This
can improve the speed and cost of performance. Smart Tiers extends and improves the functionality
and value of Thin Provisioning. Both use pools of physical storage to define V-VOLs. Each thin
provisioning pool can be configured to operate either as a THP pool or a Smart Tiers pool.
Automated tiering of physical storage is the next step for thin provisioned enterprise arrays.
Automated tiering is the ability of the array to dynamically monitor and relocate data on the
optimum tier of storage based on performance requirements. It focuses on data segments rather
than entire volumes. The functionality is entirely within the array without any mandated host level
involvement. Smart Tiers adds another layer to the thin provisioned environment.
Using Smart Tiers you can:
Configure physical storage into tiers consisting of multiple kinds of data drives, including SSD,
and SAS. Although host volumes are conventionally configured from a common pool, the pool
is efficiently configured using multiple kinds of data disk drives. Placing data that needs high
performance while reducing storage costs by using high cost disks such as SSDs as efficiently
as possible, resulting in data that is accessed infrequently being placed on lower cost physical
storage.
Automatically migrate small portions of host volumes to the most suitable data drive according
to access frequency. Frequently accessed data is migrated to higher speed data drives (for
example, SSD). Infrequently accessed data is migrated to lower cost and lower speed data
drives (for example, SAS7.2K) to use the storage efficiently.
Smart Tiers simplifies storage administration by automating and eliminating the complexities of
efficiently using tiered storage. It automatically moves data on pages in Thin Provisioning virtual
volumes to the most appropriate storage media, according to workload, to maximize service levels
and minimize total cost of storage.
Smart Tiers gives you:
Improved storage resource usage
Improved return on high-cost storage tiers
Reduced storage management effort
More automation
Nondisruptive storage management
Reduced costs
Improved overall performance

Tiers concept

When not using Smart Tiers, data is allocated to only one kind of data drive (without regard to
the workload) to the volumes because the volumes are configured with only one kind of data drive.
When using Smart Tiers, the higher speed data drive is automatically allocated to the volumes of
high workload, and the lower speed drive to the volumes of low workload. This improves
performance and reduces costs.
Smart Tiers places the host volume's data across multiple tiers of storage contained in a pool. There
can be up to three tiers (high-, medium-, and low-speed layers) in a pool. Smart Tiers determines
tier usage based on data access levels. It allocates the page with high I/O load to the upper tier,
which contains a higher speed drive, and the page with low I/O load to the lower tier, which
contains a lower speed drive.
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