Volume Provisioning in SAN Storage

Back to: Storage Area Network (SAN) Storage

olume provisioning in a Storage Area Network (SAN) involves creating and allocating storage volumes to hosts (servers) for use in block-level storage. This process ensures that applications can access storage efficiently while optimizing performance and capacity management.

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Types of Storage Provisioning

1️⃣ Thick Provisioning

• A fixed amount of storage is allocated upfront.
• Ensures performance consistency but may lead to wasted space if unused.
• Best for workloads requiring predictable performance.

2️⃣ Thin Provisioning

• Storage is allocated dynamically as data is written.
• More efficient use of available storage but may cause over-provisioning risks.
• Useful for virtualized environments and cloud storage.

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Steps for Volume Provisioning in SAN

Step 1: Create a Storage Volume on the SAN

1. Log in to the SAN storage management interface.
2. Navigate to the Storage Pool or RAID Group where you want to create the volume.
3. Click Create Volume / LUN (Logical Unit Number).
4. Specify:
   • Volume Name
   • Size (GB/TB)
   • Provisioning Type (Thick/Thin)
   • RAID Level (if applicable)
   • Performance Tier (SSD, SAS, SATA)

Step 2: Configure Access (LUN Masking & Zoning)

1. LUN Masking: Restrict access to the LUN for specific hosts.
2. Zoning (Fibre Channel SAN only):
   • Configure zones on the SAN switch to allow only authorized hosts to access storage.
   • Ensure proper WWPN (World Wide Port Name) mappings.

Step 3: Map LUN to Hosts (Storage Allocation)

• Assign the volume (LUN) to the server using:
  • iSCSI Initiator (iSCSI-based SANs)
  • FC WWPN (Fibre Channel SANs)
  • NVMe-oF (NVMe over Fabric-based SANs)

Step 4: Configure the Host (Operating System Level)

1. Scan for new storage
   • (Linux: rescan-scsi-bus.sh or echo "- - -" > /sys/class/scsi_host/hostX/scan)
2. Partition and format the volume
   • fdisk /dev/sdX # For MBR partitioning
   • parted /dev/sdX # For GPT partitioning
   • mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdX1 # Format with ext4
3. Mount the volume
   • mount /dev/sdX1 /mnt/data

Step 5: Verify & Monitor

• Check storage allocation using:
  • lsblk (Linux)
  • diskmgmt.msc (Windows)
  • Storage management tools (e.g., NetApp OnCommand, Dell Unisphere, HPE 3PAR SSMC)

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Best Practices

✅ Use Thin Provisioning for efficient capacity management.
✅ Enable Multipathing (MPIO) to avoid single points of failure.
✅ Use RAID levels to ensure redundancy and performance.
✅ Regularly monitor storage with tools like Nagios, Grafana, or vendor-specific software.