NetApp Capacity Views Use Cases

This section provides basic common management operations that can be performed with the NetApp Capacity Views for BMC TrueSight Capacity Optimization.

• Allocating Storage Capacity to New Servers (NetApp Specific)
• Analyzing Storage Capacity Utilization (NetApp Specific)
• Planning for Additional Storage Capacity (NetApp Specific)
• Reclaiming Unused Storage Capacity (NetApp Specific)

Allocating Storage Capacity to New Servers (NetApp Specific)

• Listing the HA pairs/clusters that meet allocation requirements
• Verifying the HA pairs/clusters bandwidth
• Choosing the most relevant aggregate

Allocating storage capacity to new servers consists in identifying which aggregate from which NetApp system is best suited to host the storage capacity required. To identify these aggregates, administrators need to follow the above steps.

Listing the HA pairs/clusters that meet allocation requirements

1. Access the NetApp Systems view:
   1. In the BMC TrueSight Capacity Optimization console, click the Views tab. All views available are displayed.
   2. In the Storage category, click NetApp Systems.  
2. Click the HA Pairs/Clusters tab.
   
3. List the HA Pairs/Clusters that meet your allocation requirements. You can for example apply a filter on the Available Capacity column to only display the HA Pairs/Clusters for which more than 5000 GB are available:
   1. In the Available Capacity column, click .
   2. From the operator pull-down list, select >.
   3. Type 5000.
   4. From the pull-down list, select GB.
   5. Press the Enter key.

Once the HA Pairs/Clusters matching your search criteria have been displayed, you can verify the bandwidth and the number of ports available.

Verifying the HA pairs/clusters bandwidth

Verifying the bandwidth is an essential step that will help administrators choose the HA Pair/Cluster that better meets their allocation requirements. To perform this operation, administrators must check the bandwidth utilization and the number of ports available for each HA Pair/Cluster.

1. Access the NetApp Systems view:
   1. In the BMC TrueSight Capacity Optimization console, click the Views tab. All views available are displayed.
   2. In the Storage category, click NetApp Systems.  
2. Click the HA Pairs/Clusters tab.
   
3. Show the Number of Ports column:
   1. Click  and select Show/hide columns.
   2. Check the Number of Ports box.
   3. Click Apply.
4. Verify the bandwidth utilization of each system. If the value is:
   1. low, the storage system can be used to allocate storage capacity to new servers
   2. high, check the number of ports currently available to know if additional ports can be added.

The most relevant HA Pair/Cluster is now identified. You can now proceed to the next step, i.e choosing an aggregate according to its available capacity.

Choosing the most relevant aggregate

1. Access the Storage Systems view:
   1. In the BMC TrueSight Capacity Optimization console, click the Views tab. All views available are displayed.
   2. In the Storage category, click NetApp Systems.  
2. Click the Aggregates tab.
3. Check the Available Capacity of the different aggregates displayed.

A list of potential aggregates is now available.  You should now know which aggregate from which HA Pair/Cluster is best suited to host the storage capacity required. If no aggregates meet your requirement, you will then have to create a new one.

Analyzing Storage Capacity Utilization (NetApp Specific)

• At the clusters level
• At the aggregates level

Storage demand exponentially grew over the past years and lead to runaway storage costs. To control these costs, SAN administrators are asked to better plan for future capacity needs, which is almost impossible without a clear view of the storage capacity utilization. With NetApp Capacity Views, administrators can analyze storage capacity utilization at the HA Pairs/Clusters and aggregates levels.

At the clusters level

1. Access the NetApp Systems view:
   1. In the BMC TrueSight Capacity Optimization console, click the Views tab. All views available are displayed.
   2. In the Storage category, click NetApp Systems.  
2. Click the HA Pairs/Clusters tab.
   
3. Verify the capacity of the HA Pairs/Clusters and more specifically:
   
   1. their overall size (Size metric).
   2. their total space (Capacity metric).
   3. the host visible capacity (Subscribed Capacity metric).
   4. the total space not consumed (Available Capacity metric).
   5. the space actually consumed (Consumed Capacity metric).
4. Click the HA Pair/Cluster for which you wish to get more information.
   
5. In the graph pane, click  to analyze the trend of your HA Pair/Cluster utilization.
6. You can also export this data to Excel for further analysis by first clicking  and then .

Based on the capacity information available, you can now plan for your current and future capacity needs.

At the aggregates level

1. Access the NetApp Systems view:
   
   1. In the BMC TrueSight Capacity Optimization console, click the Views tab. All views available are displayed.
   2. In the Storage category, click NetApp Systems.  
2. Click the Aggregates tab.
   
3. If needed, apply filters.
4. Verify the capacity of your aggregates and more especially:
   1. their overall size (Size metric).
   2. their total space (Capacity metric).
   3. the host visible capacity (Subscribed Capacity metric).
   4. the total space not consumed (Available Capacity metric).
   5. the space actually consumed (Consumed Capacity metric).
5. Click the Aggregate for which you wish to get more information.
   
6. In the graph pane, click  to analyze the trend of your aggregate utilization.
7. You can also export this data to Excel for further analysis by first clicking  and then . This capacity information will help you better control your storage costs.

Planning for Additional Storage Capacity (NetApp Specific)

• When will aggregates be running out of capacity?
• By how much the capacity of the aggregates must be extended to meet allocation requirements?
• Are there enough unused disks in clusters to extend the capacity of the existing aggregates?

Administrators are not only asked to assign storage resources but also to plan for both current and future storage requirements. Because under-purchasing and over-purchasing capacity will respectively result in downtimes and wasted storage, both situations must be prevented. Smooth storage administration can only be achieved if administrators can answer the above questions. With this information, they will be able to guarantee enough remaining space to answer allocation requests as quickly as possible.

When will aggregates be running out of capacity?

1. Access the NetApp Systems view:
   1. In the BMC TrueSight Capacity Optimization console, click the Views tab. All views available are displayed.
   2. In the Storage category, click NetApp Systems.
2. Click the Aggregates tab.
   
3. Verify the capacity of your aggregates and more especially:
   1. their total space (Capacity metric).
   2. the total space not consumed (Available Capacity metric).
   3. the space actually consumed (Consumed Capacity metric).
   4. the percentage of overcommited space consumed by the volume (Over Commitment metric).

You will now be able to take the necessary actions at the right time to ensure that aggregates will never run out of capacity.

By how much the capacity of the aggregates must be extended to meet allocation requirements?

1. Access the NetApp Systems view:
   1. In the BMC TrueSight Capacity Optimization console, click the Views tab. All views available are displayed.
   2. In the Storage category, click NetApp Systems.  
2. Click the Aggregates tab.
   
3. Click the aggregate of your choice to display its details and check its Consumed Capacity Trendline.

After completing the above steps, you should know exactly by how much the capacity of your aggregate needs to be extended.

Are there enough unused disks in clusters to extend the capacity of the existing aggregates?

Before purchasing additional space, administrators can also check if there are unused disks in their aggregates that could still be used to extend the capacity of the existing aggregates. To perform this verification:

1. Access the NetApp Systems view:
   1. In the BMC TrueSight Capacity Optimization console, click the Views tab. All views available are displayed.
   2. In the Storage category, click NetApp Systems.  
2. Click the HA Pairs/Clusters tab.
   
3. Click the HA Pair/Cluster for which you wish to check the number of unused disks.
4. Check the Available for Storage Pools metric.
   

You now know which disks can be used to extend the capacity of your aggregates.

Reclaiming Unused Storage Capacity (NetApp Specific)

• Identifying unmapped LUNs
• Identifying unused LUNs

Over time, as servers connected to a SAN get decommissioned, administrators find an increasing number of unmapped volumes that are no longer used by any server. These volumes, while unused, still occupy disk space in the storage system. Being able to identify such unmapped volumes and reclaim the disk space uselessly consumed by these volumes will help administrators avoid unnecessary upgrades and extensions of their storage systems.

Identifying unmapped LUNs

1. Access the NetApp Systems view:
   
   1. In the BMC TrueSight Capacity Optimization console, click the Views tab. All views available are displayed.
   2. In the Storage category, click NetApp Systems.  
2. Click the LUNs tab.
   
3. Display unmapped LUNs.

You can now reclaim the disk space uselessly consumed by these LUNs to avoid unnecessary upgrades and extensions.

Identifying unused LUNs

1. Access the NetApp Systems view:
   1. In the BMC TrueSight Capacity Optimization console, click the Views tab. All views available are displayed.
   2. In the Storage category, click NetApp Systems.  
2. Click the LUNs tab.
   
3. If needed, apply filters.
4. Apply a filter to the Time Since Last Activity (Days) column:
   1. In the Time Since Last Activity (Days) column, click .
   2. From the operator pull-down list, select =.
   3. Type the number of days required (e.g.: 30).
   4. Press the Enter key.

The list of LUNs that have not been used for 30 days is displayed. You can now take the necessary actions and reclaim the unused space.