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E-Series Systems

Assign volumes to hosts

Contributors netapp-jolieg netapp-driley netapp-jsnyder
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You must assign a volume to a host or a host cluster so it can be used for I/O operations.

Before you begin

Keep these guidelines in mind when you assign volumes to hosts:

  • You can assign a volume to only one host or host cluster at a time.

  • Assigned volumes are shared between controllers in the storage array.

  • The same logical unit number (LUN) cannot be used twice by a host or a host cluster to access a volume. You must use a unique LUN.

  • For new volume groups, if you wait until all volumes are created and initialized before you assign them to a host, the volume initialization time is reduced. Keep in mind that once a volume associated with the volume group is mapped, all volumes will revert to the slower initialization.

About this task

A volume assignment grants a host or host cluster access to that volume in a storage array.

All unassigned volumes are displayed during this task, but functions for hosts with or without Data Assurance (DA) apply as follows:

  • For a DA-capable host, you can select volumes that are either DA-enabled or not DA-enabled.

  • For a host that is not DA-capable, if you select a volume that is DA-enabled, a warning states that the system must automatically turn off DA on the volume before assigning the volume to the host.

    Assigning a volume fails under these conditions:

  • All volumes are assigned.

  • The volume is already assigned to another host or host cluster. The ability to assign a volume is unavailable under these conditions:

  • No valid hosts or host clusters exist.

  • No host port identifiers have been defined for the host.

  • All volume assignments have been defined.

Steps

  1. From the Manage page, select the storage array with the host connection.

  2. Select Provisioning › Configure Hosts.

    The Configure Hosts page opens.

  3. Select the host or host cluster to which you want to assign volumes, and then click Assign Volumes.

    A dialog box appears that lists all the volumes that can be assigned. You can sort any of the columns or type something in the Filter box to make it easier to find particular volumes.

  4. Select the check box next to each volume that you want to assign or select the check box in the table header to select all volumes.

  5. Click Assign to complete the operation.

Results

After successfully assigning a volume or volumes to a host or a host cluster, the system performs the following actions:

  • The assigned volume receives the next available LUN number. The host uses the LUN number to access the volume.

  • The user-supplied volume name appears in volume listings associated to the host. If applicable, the factory-configured access volume also appears in volume listings associated to the host.