Veritas InfoScale™ 7.4 Solutions Guide - Solaris

Last Published:
Product(s): InfoScale & Storage Foundation (7.4)
Platform: Solaris
  1. Section I. Introducing Veritas InfoScale
    1. Introducing Veritas InfoScale
      1.  
        About the Veritas InfoScale product suite
      2.  
        Components of the Veritas InfoScale product suite
  2. Section II. Solutions for Veritas InfoScale products
    1. Solutions for Veritas InfoScale products
      1.  
        Use cases for Veritas InfoScale products
      2.  
        Feature support across Veritas InfoScale 7.4 products
      3.  
        Using SmartMove and Thin Provisioning with Sybase databases
      4.  
        Finding Veritas InfoScale product use cases information
  3. Section III. Improving database performance
    1. Overview of database accelerators
      1.  
        About Veritas InfoScale product components database accelerators
    2. Improving database performance with Veritas Quick I/O
      1. About Quick I/O
        1.  
          How Quick I/O improves database performance
      2.  
        Tasks for setting up Quick I/O in a database environment
      3.  
        Creating DB2 database containers as Quick I/O files using qiomkfile Creating Sybase files as Quick I/O files using qiomkfile
      4.  
        Preallocating space for Quick I/O files using the setext command
      5.  
        Accessing regular VxFS files as Quick I/O files
      6.  
        Extending a Quick I/O file
      7.  
        Disabling Quick I/O
    3. Improving database performance with Veritas Cached Quick I/O
      1. About Cached Quick I/O
        1.  
          How Cached Quick I/O works in a Sybase environment
      2.  
        Tasks for setting up Cached Quick I/O
      3. Enabling Cached Quick I/O on a file system
        1.  
          Enabling and disabling the qio_cache_enable flag
        2.  
          Making Cached Quick I/O settings persistent across reboots and mounts
        3.  
          Using vxtunefs to obtain tuning information
      4. Determining candidates for Cached Quick I/O
        1.  
          About I/O statistics
        2.  
          Collecting I/O statistics
        3.  
          Effects of read-aheads on I/O statistics
        4.  
          Other tools for analysis
      5. Enabling and disabling Cached Quick I/O for individual files
        1.  
          Setting cache advisories for individual files
        2.  
          Making individual file settings for Cached Quick I/O persistent
        3.  
          Determining individual file settings for Cached Quick I/O using qioadmin
    4. Improving database performance with Veritas Concurrent I/O
      1. About Concurrent I/O
        1.  
          How Concurrent I/O works
      2. Tasks for enabling and disabling Concurrent I/O
        1.  
          Enabling Concurrent I/O for Sybase
        2.  
          Disabling Concurrent I/O for Sybase
  4. Section IV. Using point-in-time copies
    1. Understanding point-in-time copy methods
      1. About point-in-time copies
        1.  
          Implementing point-in time copy solutions on a primary host
        2.  
          Implementing off-host point-in-time copy solutions
      2.  
        When to use point-in-time copies
      3. About Storage Foundation point-in-time copy technologies
        1. Volume-level snapshots
          1.  
            Persistent FastResync of volume snapshots
          2.  
            Data integrity in volume snapshots
        2.  
          Storage Checkpoints
    2. Backing up and recovering
      1.  
        Storage Foundation and High Availability Solutions backup and recovery methods
      2. Preserving multiple point-in-time copies
        1.  
          Setting up multiple point-in-time copies
        2.  
          Refreshing point-in-time copies
        3.  
          Recovering from logical corruption
        4.  
          Off-host processing using refreshed snapshot images
      3. Online database backups
        1. Making a backup of an online database on the same host
          1.  
            Preparing a full-sized instant snapshot for a backup
          2.  
            Preparing a space-optimized snapshot for a database backup
          3.  
            Backing up a Sybase database on the same host
          4.  
            Resynchronizing a volume
        2. Making an off-host backup of an online database
          1.  
            Making an off-host backup of an online Sybase database
          2.  
            Resynchronizing a volume
      4. Backing up on an off-host cluster file system
        1.  
          Mounting a file system for shared access
        2.  
          Preparing a snapshot of a mounted file system with shared access
        3.  
          Backing up a snapshot of a mounted file system with shared access
        4.  
          Resynchronizing a volume from its snapshot volume
        5.  
          Reattaching snapshot plexes
      5. Database recovery using Storage Checkpoints
        1.  
          Creating Storage Checkpoints
        2.  
          Rolling back a database
    3. Backing up and recovering in a NetBackup environment
      1.  
        About Veritas NetBackup
      2.  
        About using NetBackup for backup and restore for Sybase
      3.  
        About using Veritas NetBackup to backup and restore Quick I/O files for Sybase
      4. Using NetBackup in an SFHA Solutions product environment
        1.  
          Clustering a NetBackup Master Server
        2.  
          Backing up and recovering a VxVM volume using NetBackup
        3.  
          Recovering a VxVM volume using NetBackup
    4. Off-host processing
      1.  
        Veritas InfoScale Storage Foundation off-host processing methods
      2. Using a replica database for decision support
        1. Creating a replica database on the same host
          1.  
            Preparing for the replica database
          2.  
            Creating a replica database
        2. Creating an off-host replica database
          1.  
            Setting up a replica database for off-host decision support
          2.  
            Resynchronizing the data with the primary host
          3.  
            Updating a warm standby Sybase ASE 12.5 database
          4.  
            Reattaching snapshot plexes
      3.  
        What is off-host processing?
      4.  
        About using VVR for off-host processing
    5. Creating and refreshing test environments
      1.  
        About test environments
      2.  
        Creating a test environment
      3.  
        Refreshing a test environment
    6. Creating point-in-time copies of files
      1. Using FileSnaps to create point-in-time copies of files
        1.  
          Using FileSnaps to provision virtual desktops
        2.  
          Using FileSnaps to optimize write intensive applications for virtual machines
        3.  
          Using FileSnaps to create multiple copies of data instantly
  5. Section V. Maximizing storage utilization
    1. Optimizing storage tiering with SmartTier
      1.  
        About SmartTier
      2.  
        About VxFS multi-volume file systems
      3.  
        About VxVM volume sets
      4.  
        About volume tags
      5.  
        SmartTier use cases for Sybase
      6.  
        Setting up a filesystem for storage tiering with SmartTier
      7.  
        Relocating old archive logs to tier two storage using SmartTier
      8.  
        Relocating inactive tablespaces or segments to tier two storage
      9.  
        Relocating active indexes to premium storage
      10.  
        Relocating all indexes to premium storage
    2. Optimizing storage with Flexible Storage Sharing
      1. About Flexible Storage Sharing
        1.  
          Limitations of Flexible Storage Sharing
      2.  
        About use cases for optimizing storage with Flexible Storage Sharing
      3.  
        Setting up an SFRAC clustered environment with shared nothing storage
      4.  
        Implementing the SmartTier feature with hybrid storage
      5.  
        Configuring a campus cluster without shared storage
  6. Section VI. Migrating data
    1. Understanding data migration
      1.  
        Types of data migration
    2. Offline migration from Solaris Volume Manager to Veritas Volume Manager
      1.  
        About migration from Solaris Volume Manager
      2. How Solaris Volume Manager objects are mapped to VxVM objects
        1.  
          Conversion of soft partitions
      3. Overview of the conversion process
        1.  
          Plan and prepare for the conversion
        2.  
          Set up the conversion
        3.  
          Perform the conversion
        4.  
          Perform post-conversion tasks
      4. Planning the conversion
        1.  
          Scheduling considerations
        2.  
          Schedule downtime
        3.  
          Check metadevices
        4.  
          Identify references by applications
      5. Preparing a Solaris Volume Manager configuration for conversion
        1.  
          Installing VxVM
      6. Setting up a Solaris Volume Manager configuration for conversion
        1.  
          Run preconvert
        2.  
          Run showconvert
        3.  
          Run convertname
        4.  
          Make backups
      7. Converting from the Solaris Volume Manager software to VxVM
        1.  
          Reboot the system
        2.  
          Change volume references
      8. Post conversion tasks
        1.  
          Improve volume layouts
        2.  
          Remove the Solaris Volume Manager software
      9.  
        Converting a root disk
    3. Online migration of a native file system to the VxFS file system
      1.  
        About online migration of a native file system to the VxFS file system
      2.  
        Administrative interface for online migration of a native file system to the VxFS file system
      3.  
        Migrating a native file system to the VxFS file system
      4. Migrating a source file system to the VxFS file system over NFS v3
        1.  
          Restrictions of NFS v3 migration
      5.  
        Backing out an online migration of a native file system to the VxFS file system
      6. VxFS features not available during online migration
        1.  
          Limitations of online migration
    4. Migrating storage arrays
      1.  
        Array migration for storage using Linux
      2.  
        Overview of storage mirroring for migration
      3.  
        Allocating new storage
      4.  
        Initializing the new disk
      5.  
        Checking the current VxVM information
      6.  
        Adding a new disk to the disk group
      7.  
        Mirroring
      8.  
        Monitoring
      9.  
        Mirror completion
      10.  
        Removing old storage
      11.  
        Post-mirroring steps
    5. Migrating data between platforms
      1. Overview of the Cross-Platform Data Sharing (CDS) feature
        1.  
          Shared data across platforms
        2.  
          Disk drive sector size
        3.  
          Block size issues
        4.  
          Operating system data
      2. CDS disk format and disk groups
        1. CDS disk access and format
          1. CDS disk types
            1.  
              Private and public regions
            2.  
              Disk access type auto
            3.  
              Platform block
            4.  
              AIX coexistence label
            5.  
              HP-UX coexistence label
            6.  
              VxVM ID block
          2. About Cross-platform Data Sharing (CDS) disk groups
            1.  
              Device quotas
            2.  
              Minor device numbers
        2.  
          Non-CDS disk groups
        3. Disk group alignment
          1. Alignment values
            1.  
              Dirty region log alignment
          2.  
            Object alignment during volume creation
      3. Setting up your system to use Cross-platform Data Sharing (CDS)
        1. Creating CDS disks from uninitialized disks
          1.  
            Creating CDS disks by using vxdisksetup
          2.  
            Creating CDS disks by using vxdiskadm
        2. Creating CDS disks from initialized VxVM disks
          1.  
            Creating a CDS disk from a disk that is not in a disk group
          2.  
            Creating a CDS disk from a disk that is already in a disk group
        3. Creating CDS disk groups
          1.  
            Creating a CDS disk group by using vxdg init
          2.  
            Creating a CDS disk group by using vxdiskadm
        4.  
          Converting non-CDS disks to CDS disks
        5.  
          Converting a non-CDS disk group to a CDS disk group
        6.  
          Verifying licensing
        7.  
          Defaults files
      4. Maintaining your system
        1. Disk tasks
          1.  
            Changing the default disk format
          2.  
            Restoring CDS disk labels
        2. Disk group tasks
          1.  
            Changing the alignment of a disk group during disk encapsulation
          2.  
            Changing the alignment of a non-CDS disk group
          3.  
            Splitting a CDS disk group
          4.  
            Moving objects between CDS disk groups and non-CDS disk groups
          5.  
            Moving objects between CDS disk groups
          6.  
            Joining disk groups
          7.  
            Changing the default CDS setting for disk group creation
          8.  
            Creating non-CDS disk groups
          9.  
            Upgrading an older version non-CDS disk group
          10.  
            Replacing a disk in a CDS disk group
          11.  
            Setting the maximum number of devices for CDS disk groups
          12.  
            Changing the DRL map and log size
          13.  
            Creating a volume with a DRL log
          14.  
            Setting the DRL map length
        3. Displaying information
          1.  
            Determining the setting of the CDS attribute on a disk group
          2.  
            Displaying the maximum number of devices in a CDS disk group
          3.  
            Displaying map length and map alignment of traditional DRL logs
          4.  
            Displaying the disk group alignment
          5.  
            Displaying the log map length and alignment
          6.  
            Displaying offset and length information in units of 512 bytes
        4.  
          Default activation mode of shared disk groups
        5.  
          Additional considerations when importing CDS disk groups
      5. File system considerations
        1.  
          Considerations about data in the file system
        2.  
          File system migration
        3. Specifying the migration target
          1.  
            Examples of target specifications
        4. Using the fscdsadm command
          1.  
            Checking that the metadata limits are not exceeded
          2. Maintaining the list of target operating systems
            1.  
              Adding an entry to the list of target operating systems
            2.  
              Removing an entry from the list of target operating systems
            3.  
              Removing all entries from the list of target operating systems
            4.  
              Displaying the list of target operating systems
          3.  
            Enforcing the established CDS limits on a file system
          4.  
            Ignoring the established CDS limits on a file system
          5.  
            Validating the operating system targets for a file system
          6.  
            Displaying the CDS status of a file system
        5.  
          Migrating a file system one time
        6. Migrating a file system on an ongoing basis
          1.  
            Stopping ongoing migration
        7.  
          When to convert a file system
        8. Converting the byte order of a file system
          1.  
            Importing and mounting a file system from another system
      6.  
        Alignment value and block size
      7.  
        Disk group alignment and encapsulated disks
      8.  
        Disk group import between Linux and non-Linux machines
      9.  
        Migrating a snapshot volume
    6. Migrating from Oracle ASM to Veritas File System
      1.  
        About the migration
      2.  
        Pre-requisites for migration
      3.  
        Preparing to migrate
      4.  
        Migrating Oracle databases from Oracle ASM to VxFS
  7. Section VII. Veritas InfoScale 4K sector device support solution
    1. Veritas InfoScale 4k sector device support solution
      1.  
        About 4K sector size technology
      2.  
        Veritas InfoScale unsupported configurations
      3.  
        Migrating VxFS file system from 512-bytes sector size devices to 4K sector size devices

About I/O statistics

The output of the qiostat command is the primary source of information to use in deciding whether to enable or disable Cached Quick I/O on specific files. Statistics are printed in two lines per object.

The second line of information is defined as follows:

  • CREAD is the number of reads from the VxFS cache (or total number of reads to Quick I/O files with cache advisory on)

  • PREAD is the number of reads going to the disk for Quick I/O files with the cache advisory on

  • HIT RATIO is displayed as a percentage and is the number of CREADS minus the number of PREADS times 100 divided by the total number of CREADS. The formula looks like this:

		(CREADs - PREADs) * 100/ CREADs

The qiostat -l command output looks similar to the following:

/db01/sysprocs.dbf	17128	9634	68509	38536			24.8		0.4			 
17124		15728			 8.2
/db1/master.dbf		  	6				 1			 21    4				 10.0		0.0			 
		6	     	6			  0.0
/db01/user.dbf				62552	38498	250213	153992	21.9		0.4				
62567		49060		  21.6

Analyze the output to find out where the cache-hit ratio is above a given threshold. A cache-hit ratio above 20 percent on a file for a given application may be sufficient to justify caching on that file. For systems with larger loads, the acceptable ratio may be 30 percent or above. Cache-hit-ratio thresholds vary according to the database type and load.

Using the sample output above as an example, the file /db01/master.dbf does not benefit from the caching because the cache-hit ratio is zero. In addition, the file receives very little I/O during the sampling duration.

However, the file /db01/user.dbf has a cache-hit ratio of 21.6 percent. If you have determined that, for your system and load, this figure is above the acceptable threshold, it means the database can benefit from caching. Also, study the numbers reported for the read and write operations. When you compare the number of reads and writes for the /db01/user.dbf file, you see that the number of reads is roughly twice the number of writes. You can achieve the greatest performance gains with Cached Quick I/O when using it for files that have higher read than write activity.

Based on these two factors, /db01/user.dbf is a prime candidate for Cached Quick I/O.