Using the Storage Space on an Application Server
After a connection is established between a storage system and an application server, the application server must discover the newly-added logical disk (that is, the storage space specified by a mapped LUN) to use it as a common disk for data reads and writes.
Prerequisites
- The application server is communicating properly with the storage system.
- The planned storage capacity has been allocated to the application server.
- Multipathing software has been installed and configured for the application server if redundant paths exist between the application server and the storage system. This prevents multiple LUNs from being repetitively mapped to the application server.
- For details about how to install and configure UltraPath, refer to the UltraPath user guide specific to your operating system. For details about how to configure OS native multipathing software, refer to Huawei SAN Storage Host Connectivity Guide for XXX.
- If multipathing software is installed and configured after LUNs are mapped to the application server, you must restart the application server for the multipathing policies to take effect.
Precautions
- Do not allocate disks in use to other applications. Otherwise, data security will be compromised.
- If a host login error occurs, operations on disks affect the running of applications.
- If components are incompatible, use of the storage space on application servers may be compromised.
Context
The maximum LUN capacity that can be identified by an application server varies according to the operating system and file system used by the application server. Table 4-16 lists the maximum LUN capacity supported by various operating systems.
Operating System |
File System |
Maximum Allowed LUN Capacity |
|---|---|---|
Windows Server 2003 |
New Technology File System (NTFS) |
2 TB NOTE:
If a LUN mapped to a Windows Server 2003-based application server is larger than 2 TB, convert it into a GUID Partition Table (GPT) disk. |
Windows Server 2003 SP1 and later |
NTFS |
256 TB |
Windows XP 32-bit |
NTFS |
2 TB |
Windows XP 64-bit |
NTFS |
256 TB |
Windows Server 2008 |
NTFS |
256 TB |
Windows 7 |
NTFS |
256 TB |
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server |
EXT3/ReiserFS/XFS |
16 TB/16 TB/8 EB |
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 |
EXT3/XFS |
16 TB/100 TB |
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 |
EXT3/EXT4/XFS |
16 TB/16 TB/100 TB |
Plan the capacity of a LUN before mapping it to an application server. If the LUN capacity exceeds the specifications, the application server will fail to identify the LUN.
Configuration Method
For details, see the Huawei SAN Storage Host Connectivity Guide for XXX. XXX represents a specific operating system, for example, Windows.