HP VMA SAN, Installation And Configuration Manual

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48 HP VMA SAN Gateway Installation and Configuration Guide AM456-9025A
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Initiators and Initiator groups : An initiator is a host or client that requires access to the
LUNs stored in the containers. Multiple initiators may be grouped together in an initiator
group (igroup). Access to the LUNs in a container may be restricted to specific initiators or
initiator groups.
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Targets : A target identifies the port on the HP VMA SAN Gateway through which the
initiator may access the LUNs stored in a container. Access to the LUNs in a container may be
restricted by target port.
vSHARE System Architecture
The vSHARE architecture is ideal for applications that require rapid access to and processing of
large amounts of data including enterprise databases, data warehouses and application servers.
A typical VMA configuration cluster consists of one or two HP VMA SAN Gateways running the
vSHARE software application and one or more HP VMA-series Arrays.
The vSHARE application runs on HP VMA SAN Gateways and allows you to manage LUN and
initiator-target relationships. The HP VMA SAN Gateways operate as the SAN targets and the hosts
(such as a database server or application server) are the
initiators
.
The HP VMA SAN Gateway provides network connectivity, utilizing Fibre Channel protocols. The
HP VMA SAN Gateway provides high performance processing, high bandwidth DRAM, and high
bandwidth access to the HP VMA-series Arrays. All LUNs created and managed by vSHARE. are
stored in containers, each container comprises a HP VMA-series Array that utilizes flash memory
storage.
For maximum performance, Single Level Cell (SLC) flash is used. For capacity to support read-
centric applications, Multiple Level Cell (MLC) should be used. The HP VMA SAN Gateways and
HP VMA-series Arrays are connected via PCIe.
Figure 5.1 vSHARE System Architecture