Overview
SVM manages a large number of disks and data stored on them. SVM is mainly used to:
- Expand storage capacity
- Improve data availability
- Simplify the management of large-scale storage devices
In addition, SVM can improve I/O performance.
Managing Storage Systems
SVM uses virtual disks to manage physical disks and their associated data. Virtual disks are called volumes. Historically, volumes are called metadevices in command-line utilities.
For application programs or file systems, volumes are equal to physical disks in terms of functions. SVM can convert a volume-oriented I/O request into a disk-oriented I/O request.
Additionally, SVM can use the RAID-1 (mirror) volume and RAID-5 volume to improve data reliability and availability. SVM hot spares can further improve data availability of the mirrored volume and RAID-5 volume.
Managing SVM
You can manage SVM using the following two methods:
- GUI (Solaris Management Console)
You can manage volumes on the GUI (Solaris Management Console). The GUI provides wizard-based processing functions for SVM components including volumes, hot spare pools, and state database replicas, ensuring that you can quickly configure disks or modify configurations.
- Command-line interface (CLI)
You can use CLI to manage volumes. The core commands for SVM management begin with meta, such as metainit and metastat.
You can use either command lines or GUI to manage SVM.
Configuration changes may cause unpredictable consequences.