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SANtricity 11.8

Access volumes

Contributors netapp-jolieg

An access volume is a factory-configured volume on the storage array that is used for communication with the storage array and the host through the host I/O connection. The access volume requires a Logical Unit Number (LUN).

The access volume is used in two instances:

  • Automatic host creation — The access volume is used by the Host Context Agent (HCA) utility to push host information (name, ports, host type) to System Manager for automatic host creation.

  • In-band management — The access volume is used for an in-band connection to manage the storage array. This can only be done if you are managing the storage array with the command line interface (CLI).

    Note

    In-band management is not available for EF600 or EF300 storage systems.

An access volume is automatically created the first time you assign a volume to a host. For example, if you assign Volume_1 and Volume_2 to a host, when you view results of that assignment, you see three volumes (Volume_1, Volume_2, and Access).

If you are not automatically creating hosts or managing a storage array in-band with the CLI, you do not need the access volume, and you can free up the LUN by deleting the access volume. This action removes the volume-to-LUN assignment as well as any in-band management connections to the host.