Dell PowerVault MD3220 - Manual (Page 85)

Configuration: About Your Host 85
8
Configuration: About Your Host
Configuring Host Access
Modular Disk Storage Manager (MDSM) software is comprised of multiple
modules. One of these modules is the Host Context Agent. The host context
agent is installed as part of the MDSM installation and runs continuously in
the background.
If the host context agent is running on a host, the host and the host ports
connected from it to the storage array are automatically detected by MDSM
and are displayed on the Mappings tab in the Array Management Window
(AMW). For more information on the Mappings tab, see "Using the
Mappings Tab" on page 86.
If the hosts are not detected automatically, you can use the Define Host
Wizard to define the hosts that access the virtual disks in the storage array.
Defining a host is one of the steps required to let the storage array know
which hosts are attached to it and to allow access to the virtual disks. For
more information on defining the hosts, see "Defining a Host" on page 86.
To enable the host to write to the storage array, you must map the host to the
virtual disk. This mapping grants a host or a host group access to a particular
virtual disk or to a number of virtual disks in a storage array. You can define
the mappings on the Mappings tab in the AMW.
On the Summary tab in the AMW, the Hosts & Mappings area indicates how
many hosts are configured to access the storage array. You can click
Configured Hosts in the Hosts & Mappings area to see the names of the
hosts
A collection of elements, such as default host groups, hosts, and host ports,
are displayed as nodes in the Topology pane of the Mappings tab in the
AMW.
The host topology is reconfigurable. You can perform the following tasks:
• Create a host and assign an alias or user label.
• Add or associate a new host port identifier to a particular host.
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