Apple Xsan 2 (Third Edition) - Manual (Page 37)

37
Follow step by step instructions for setting up a shared
volume on an Xsan SAN.
This chapter explains how to connect the SAN networks, prepare RAID arrays (LUNs),
use the Xsan Admin application, set up a SAN, and create a shared volume. This
chapter also tells you how to administer Xsan remotely, rename a SAN, remove a SAN,
set up additional SANs, and manage multiple SANs.
Connecting Computers and Storage Devices
Before you open Xsan Admin to configure your SAN, you must connect client
computers, controller computers, and storage devices to the SAN’s Fibre Channel
and Ethernet networks. In addition, make sure your networks meet the requirements
summarized in “Fibre Channel Fabric” on page 22 and “Ethernet TCP/IP Network” on
page 23.
Preparing LUNs
New RAID systems often come configured as one or more RAID arrays. So, out of the
box, your RAID system might provide LUNs that you can use for most SAN applications.
For details, see the documentation for your RAID system. Unless you have well-defined,
special needs, no other LUN preparation is needed.
To set up other combinations of RAID arrays or slices, use the management application
that comes with your RAID systems to create the arrays before you add the resulting
LUNs to your SAN’s storage pools. For information about choosing a RAID scheme,
see “Choosing RAID Schemes for LUNs” on page 28.
Note: Don’t use Disk Utility to format arrays or slices for use with Xsan. LUNs are
labeled and initialized when you add them to a storage pool using Xsan Admin.
After they are labeled, the LUNs can’t be modified using Disk Utility.
Be sure to create arrays of the same size if you plan to add them to the same storage
pool. For more information, see “Assigning LUNs to Affinity Tags” on page 29.
3
Setting Up a Storage Area Network