HP StorageWorks XP Remote Web Console Software - Manual (Page 5)

1 Overview of HP XP Thin Provisioning Software
This chapter describes the general features and functions of HP XP Thin Provisioning Software.
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“XP Thin Provisioning Features” (page 5)
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“XP Thin Provisioning Benefits” (page 5)
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“Complementary Software” (page 6)
Unless otherwise specified, the term storage system in this guide refers to the following disk arrays:
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HP XP24000 Disk Array
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HP XP20000 Disk Array
The GUI illustrations in this guide were created using a Windows computer with the Internet Explorer
browser. Actual windows may differ depending on the operating system and browser used. GUI
contents also vary with licensed program products, storage system models, and firmware versions.
XP Thin Provisioning Features
XP Thin Provisioning is a new advanced thin provisioning software product that provides virtual
storage capacity to simplify administration and addition of storage, eliminate application service
interruptions, and reduce costs.
For companies faced with ongoing rapid growth of their data storage requirements and escalating
storage and storage management expenses, XP Thin Provisioning greatly simplifies the application
storage provisioning process and saves money on storage purchases.
XP Thin Provisioning allows storage to be allocated to an application without actually being
physically mapped until it is used. This as-needed method means storage allocations can exceed
the amount of storage physically installed. It also decouples the provisioning of storage to an
application from the physical addition of storage capacity to the storage system. Both significantly
simplify the storage provisioning process.
As it is needed, physical storage is nondisruptively added to the storage system and placed in a
central pool available to all thin provisioned volumes. As an application requires additional
capacity, the storage system automatically allocates the needed additional physical storage to the
volume. Behind the scenes, XP Thin Provisioning monitors storage resources and proactively alerts
you before more physical storage is required.
XP Thin Provisioning also simplifies performance optimization by transparently spreading many
hosts’ individual I/O patterns across many physical disks, thereby reducing performance
management concerns and optimizing performance/throughput.
With XP Thin Provisioning, overall storage utilization rates improve and the entire storage system
is tuned for maximum efficiency. In addition, in tiered storage environments, it offers a useful
low-cost tier option.
Coupled with the advanced features and reliability of the HP storage system, XP Thin Provisioning
offers reduced capital and management expenses, and an improved return on your storage
investment.
XP Thin Provisioning Benefits
In a traditional volume, when you need more storage, you must install additional disks and
simultaneously change the configuration of both the storage system and the host. This requires
extensive careful orchestration, and is disruptive to application I/O.
With XP Thin Provisioning, when configuring additional storage for an application, the administrator
draws from the XP Thin Provisioning pool without immediately adding physical disks. Coordination
between the creation of a volume and the physical disk layout are no longer a consideration.
XP Thin Provisioning Features 5