Home > Storage > PowerMax and VMAX > Data Protection > Dell PowerMax 2500 and 8500: TimeFinder SnapVX Snapshots and Clones > Linked target and clone performance
It is not necessary to wait for the define process to complete before accessing linked targets or clones. Some overhead may be incurred when accessing undefined data. However, the effect is typically negligible and the define scan will typically complete quickly enough to be transparent to the user.
In some rare cases, it may be best to wait for the define process to progress before accessing the snapshot targets. For example, during a large dataset refresh to the target devices with a performance-sensitive application that is waiting to access the target devices. Allowing the define process to progress before accessing the targets reduces or eliminates the chance of accessing undefined target data.
The same rules and considerations apply for snapshot restore operations. Data is available immediately after the restore command completes. There is no need to wait for the copy to complete, although overhead may be incurred when accessing data that has not yet completed.
Best practice: Use production-like workloads during benchmark testing for the most accurate assessment of the performance that can be expected when the application is in production. The array used for testing must also be properly sized for the required capacity, snapshot activity, and any other features that may affect system performance. Tests using I/O levels and change rates beyond what is expected in production do not produce realistic results.
.