Dell Unity Data Reduction is supported on Thin LUNs, whether standalone or within a Consistency Group, Thin File Systems, and Thin VMware VMFS and NFS Datastores. Advanced Deduplication can be enabled on resources which support Data Reduction and reside on a supported configuration. Each of these storage resources can be created using Unisphere, Unisphere CLI, or REST API. The following sections outline how you can easily create data reduction enabled storage resources using Unisphere and Unisphere CLI. Creating resources with Advanced Deduplication enabled will also be covered.

LUNs

In Unisphere, standalone Thin and Thick LUNs are created using the Create LUNs wizard, which can be found on the Block page. The Block page can be accessed by selecting Block under Storage in the left Unisphere pane. Error! Reference source not found. below shows the Create LUNs wizard. To create a data reduction enabled LUN or multiple data reduction enabled LUNs, ensure the Thin and Data Reduction checkboxes are checked in the Configure step. Once Data Reduction is enabled the Advanced Deduplication checkbox is shown and can be enabled for resources which support it. After customizing the other settings of the LUN, click Next.

Figure 7.   Create LUN Wizard – Configure Step

After configuring the other settings of the LUNs, the Summary step is displayed. An example of the Summary step when creating multiple LUNs with data reduction and Advanced Deduplication enabled is shown in Error! Reference source not found.. The Summary screen includes the Name(s) of the LUNs being created, and if Data Reduction and Advanced Deduplication will be enabled on the new LUNs.

Figure 8.   Create LUN Wizard – Summary Step

Consistency Groups

When creating a new Consistency Group, Thin LUNs can also be created with data reduction and Advanced Deduplication enabled. Consistency Groups can be created and configured by navigating to the Consistency Group tab within the Block page. The Configure LUNs window, shown below in Error! Reference source not found., has an option to create LUNs with data reduction and Advanced Deduplication enabled. To create LUNs with data reduction and Advanced Deduplication enabled within a Consistency Group, ensure the Thin, Data Reduction, and Advanced Deduplication boxes are checked before clicking OK.

Figure 9.   Configure LUNs step within the Create a Consistency Group Wizard

After configuring LUNs within the Consistency Group, the Storage screen within the Create a Consistency Group wizard is populated. An example of this window is shown in Error! Reference source not found.. From this screen you can see if the LUNs being created have data reduction and Advanced Deduplication enabled or not by reviewing the Data Reduction and Advanced Deduplication columns. The Data Reduction and Advanced Deduplication columns are not enabled by default but can be added to the view by clicking the Gear Icon and clicking the checkbox next to Data Reduction and Advanced Deduplication under the Columns option.

Figure 10.    Create a Consistency Group - Populate a Consistency Group screen

File Systems

Data reduction is supported on Thin File Systems created on Dell UnityOS version 4.2 and later, and Advanced Deduplication can also be enabled if the resource resides on a supported configuration. In Unisphere, Thin File Systems are created using the Create a File System wizard, found on the File page. The File page can be accessed by selecting File under Storage in the left pane of Unisphere. Error! Reference source not found. below shows the Storage step within the Create a File System wizard. To enable data reduction, first ensure the Thin checkbox is checked, as data reduction is only available on Thin File Systems. Second, select the Data Reduction checkbox, which is disabled by default. If supported, once Data Reduction is enabled Advanced Deduplication can also be enabled. After customizing the other settings of the File System, click Next.

Figure 11.    Create a File System Wizard – Storage Step

After configuring the other File System settings, the Summary step is displayed. This is the last step before the creation of the File System. An example of the Summary step can be seen in Error! Reference source not found.. The Summary screen includes entries for Data Reduction and Advanced Deduplication, which signifies if the File System will be configured with those features enabled (Yes) or disabled (No).

Figure 12.    Create a File System Wizard – Summary Step

VMware VMFS And NFS Datastores

To create a VMware Datastore, first navigate to the VMware page, found by selecting VMware under Storage in the left Unisphere pane. While on the VMware page, select the + symbol on the Datastores tab to launch the Create VMware Datastore wizard. On the Type step, select File to create a VMware NFS Datastore, or Block to create a VMware VMFS Datastore. On the Storage step you can select which Pool to create the VMFS or NFS Datastore on, the size of the Datastore, if it will be Thin, and if data reduction and Advanced Deduplication are enabled. The Pool selected must support data reduction and the Thin checkbox must be selected for the Data Reduction option to be available. Data Reduction must be enabled and the configuration must be supported for the Advanced Deduplication option to be available. An example of the Storage step when creating a VMware VMFS Datastore is found in Error! Reference source not found.. The Storage step contains similar information when creating a VMware NFS Datastore.

Figure 13.    Create VMware VMFS Datastore Wizard – Storage Step