After a pool is created on the storage system, users can start to create storage resources. On the Block page, as shown in Figure 13, users can create block storage resources such as LUNs, Consistency Groups, and Thin Clones. Users can also configure iSCSI Interfaces, for accessing block resources. Alternatively, block resources can be accessed through Fibre Channel by configuring zones on the connected FC switch.
A LUN can be configured to give host access to one or multiple hosts. Types of host access include LUN, Snapshot, or LUN and Snapshot access. Consistency groups can be used for application crash consistency among related LUNs (up to 75) when using data protection features like Snapshots and Replication.
Standalone Thin and Thick LUNs are created using the Create LUNs Wizard. Figure 14 shows the Create LUNs Wizard. Multiple LUNs can be created at the same time, and Data Reduction can be enabled on the LUNs. To create a LUN or multiple LUNs with Data Reduction enabled, the user needs to check the Data Reduction checkbox on the Configure step.
In Dell Unity OE version 4.2 release and later, the user can create Thick LUNs from Unisphere. Users tend to create a Thick LUN for space reservation and when they do not need to enable Data Reduction or use other advanced software features. The Thin checkbox is selected by default. To create a Thick LUN, the user needs to clear the Thin checkbox. Clearing the checkbox also disables the Data Reduction option. For more information about Data Reduction, see the Dell Unity: Data Reduction white paper.
Additionally, with Dell Unity OE version 4.4 and later, Unisphere allows the user to set a custom Host LUN ID during creation of LUNs and VMware vStorage VMFS Datastores, as shown in Figure 15. The valid range for the Host LUN ID is from 0 to 16381. Keep in mind that some Operating Systems do not recognize Host LUN IDs higher than 255. When the resource is created, the user can modify the Host LUN IDs from the block resource’s properties page under the Access tab or on the host’s properties page.