Backup San Design Guidelines; General San Design Considerations; San Zoning - HP StorageWorks 12000 - Virtual Library System EVA Gateway Manual

The HP Library and Tape Tools:
• Dev Perf – This provides a simple test which will write data directly from system memory to a
cartridge in a library on the VLS or D2D system. If this tool is run on a server being used as the
backup media server, it can provide the maximum data throughput rate for a single backup or
restore process. This isolates any backup application or source disk system from the environment
and helps identify whether the bottleneck is the VLS or D2D system or the data transport link (Eth-
ernet or Fibre Channel SAN) to the VLS or D2D system. For example, if this test reports 30-40
MB/s on a D2D, there is not a problem with the D2D or transport link. This test should report 100-
150 MB on a VLS. Before starting the test, HP recommends creating a new virtual library to avoid
overwriting any data on the current libraries. Use the frontpanel function on the Library and
Tape Tools to manually "move" a cartridge into the tape drive.
• Sys Perf – This tool provides two tests which are conducted on the source disk system to perform
backup and restore performance tests. These tests either read (for backup) or write (for restore)
from and to the system disks to calculate how fast data can be transferred from disk and therefore
whether this is a bottleneck. These tests should be run on the media server which backs up to the
VLS or D2D. In order to test how fast any client servers can transfer data, the same performance
tests can be used by mounting a directory from any of the client servers to the media server then
running the test from the media server against these mounted directories; this will show how quickly
data can be transferred from the client server disk right through to the media server.

Backup SAN Design Guidelines

The design of your SAN environment will affect the performance, efficiency, and reliability of your
backup and recovery scheme. Good SAN design is conducive to good VLS and D2D performance.
Inefficient SAN design can degrade the performance and efficiency of all members of the SAN.

General SAN Design Considerations

See the reference materials at
• SAN design and configuration
• Synchronizing equipment and firmware (heterogeneous SAN support)
• Working across operating systems (SAN in heterogeneous environments)

SAN Zoning

Due to complexities in multi-hosting tape devices on SANs, it helps to make use of zoning tools to
help keep the backup/restore environment simple and less susceptible to the effects of changing or
problematic SANs. Zoning provides a way for servers, disk arrays, and tape controllers to only see
what hosts and targets they need to see and use. See the Enterprise Backup Solutions Design Guide
available at http://www.hp.com/go/ebs
The benefits of zoning include:
• The potential to greatly reduce target and LUN shifting.
• Limiting unnecessary discoveries on the FC interfaces.
• Reducing stress on backup devices by polling agents.
• Reducing the time it takes to debug and resolve anomalies in the backup/restore environment.
• Reducing the potential for conflict with untested third-party products.
Zoning may not always be required for configurations that are already small or simple. Typically the
bigger the SAN, the more zoning is needed. HP recommends the following for determining how and
when to use zoning.
46 Backup Solution Design Considerations
www.hp.com/go/ebs for information about:
for details.