HP StorageWorks Performance Advisor XP Version 2.1 March 2005 Readme.txt Product Number B9369-96085 ====================================== ====================================== ======== CONTENTS ======== 1.0 OVERVIEW 2.0 FIRMWARE REQUIREMENTS 3.0 NEW FEATURES 4.0 DEFECT FIXES AND ENHANCEMENTS 5.0 KNOWN ISSUES AND LIMITATIONS 6.0 APPENDIX ============= 1.0 OVERVIEW ============= HP StorageWorks Performance Advisor XP (PA XP) is an Internet application that collects and monitors real-time performance of the HP StorageWorks family of XP disk array products. Using a simple browser-based interface, you can quickly customize performance data collection and set performance alarms. PA XP provides real-time and historical data on the following: * LDEV I/O * Front-end and back-end utilization * Internal bus utilization * Cache usage New features and defect fixes are summarized in sections 3.0 and 4.0. Section 5.0 discusses known issues and section 6.0 provides an appendix for miscellaneous information not covered in the previous sections. ========================== 2.0 FIRMWARE REQUIREMENTS ========================== PAXP 2.1 requires that the managed disk arrays have certain minimum firmware levels. - For XP12000: Firmware version 50.01.30.00/00 is required. (Firmware version 50.03.30.00/00 or later is recommended.) - For XP1024/XP128: Firmware version 21.11.02.00/00 is required. (Firmware version 21.11.02.00/00 or later is recommended.) - For XP512/XP48: Firmware version 1.19.51.00/00 is required. (Firmware version 1.19.86.00/00 or later is recommended.) - For X256: Firmware version 52.49.40.00/00 or later is required. ================= 3.0 NEW FEATURES ================= PA XP 2.1 introduces the following features: 3.1 New Operating Systems for Management Station ------------------------------------------------- Windows XP Professional (SP2) and Windows Server 2003 (Standard Edition) are not supported operating systems for the PA XP management station. 3.2 Partitioning Support for XP12000 Disk Arrays ------------------------------------------------- The Storage Logical Partitioning (SLPR) and Cache Logical Partitioning (CLPR) screens provide detailed configuration and metrics for array partitions. Access these new screens from the Grid Display screen by double-clicking the SLPR or CLPR ID (in blue). This feature is only supported for XP12000 arrays. 3.3 Array Utilization Screen ----------------------------- The Array Utilization screen provides utilization metrics for cache, bus path, ACP, and CHIP. The hyperlinks enable you to access each metric's chart. Access this new screen from the Array View screen by clicking the "General" box. You can also access the Array Utilization screen by double-clicking an array serial number on the Grid Display screen. 3.4 Enhanced Chart Screen -------------------------- The Chart screen now displays up to 1000 data points in a single screen instead of 10 data points. You can choose 10, 50, 100, 500, or 1000 points per screen. Improved navigation buttons enable you to jump to the beginning or end of the data set. The default chart style is now the line chart instead of the 3-D bar chart. 3.5 Cache Usage Metrics ------------------------ You can create charts for cache usage metrics (cache usage, write pending usage, and sidefile usage) in MB or utilization. You can also set alarms for these metrics. 3.6 Enhanced Database Performance ---------------------------------- The database engine has been upgraded. This improves the performance of chart screens when requesting data over a long time range. 3.7 Recovery Alarm Configuration --------------------------------- You can now disable recovery alarms so you do not receive notification when a metric recovers below a threshold it exceeded. Also, the Alarm History screen and email subject line has an identifier to differentiate a recovery alarm. ================================== 4.0 DEFECT FIXES AND ENHANCEMENTS ================================== This version of PA XP includes several defect fixes and enhancements. 4.1 LUSE Component I/O's Attributed to LUSE Master RAID Group --------------------------------- In previous versions of PA XP, LUSE Component I/O's were counted as LUSE Master I/O's. LUSE Master and LUSE Component I/O's are now counted against their respective LDEVs. NOTE: If a database prior to PA XP 2.1 is migrated to PA XP 2.1, RAID Group and LDEV related charting should be done separately for data collection timestamps involving PA XP 2.1 and the older version of PA XP. PA XP only stores the latest LUSE configuration data. If changes are made to the LUSE configuration, you can view the history of LUSE configuration in the PA XP event logs. 4.2 Non-Default Installation ----------------------------- In previous versions of PA XP, an error occurred if you attempted to install PA XP on a non-default drive with Command View XP installed. 4.3 High Utilization on AIX Hosts ---------------------------------- PA XP required high processor utilization on AIX hosts during Host Agent installation or when information was requested from the host. 4.4 ExportDB CLUI Command Performance -------------------------------------- In certain circumstances, the performance of the ExportDB command was poor. This occurred when the -dver option was used with a large volume of data due to large configurations or an extended time range. 4.5 First ACP Pair on Main Window Ignored Filtering ---------------------------------------------------- On the main PA XP window, if you selected the first ACP pair from the list and click the Request Data button, all ACP pairs were displayed in the Grid Display screen. 4.6 Host Agent Installation/Uninstallation Status not Updated -------------------------------------------------------------- When using the remote deployment tool to simultaneously install or uninstall multiple Host Agents, the status indicator did not always update. The operation would complete; however, the status indicator continued to display a certain percentage complete. 4.7 Confusing Prompts during Local Host Agent Installation ----------------------------------------------------------- In configurations in which PA XP and command View XP were installed on the same management station, running the local Host Agent installation script resulted in confusing prompts. Separate prompts asked if you wanted to install the PA XP and Command View XP Path Connectivity Host Agents. If you responded "no" to either prompt, the script again asked if you wanted to install the "optional" Host Agent component. 4.8 Host Agent Services/Processes Stopped when Locally Uninstalling Host Agents ------------------------------------------------------- when PA XP and Command View XP Path Connectivity Host Agents were installed on the same host and you were locally uninsalling them, you were prompted separately to remove each Host Agent. If you entered "no" to both prompts, the Host Agent was not uninstalled; however, the Host Agent service/ process was not restarted automatically. 4.9 Host Agent Data not Sent after Reinstallation -------------------------------------------------- If you redeployed the PA XP Host Agent to a host from a different management station, the Host Agent did not always send data to the new management station. ================================= 5.0 KNOWN ISSUES AND LIMITATIONS ================================= The issues and limitations described in this section are known to exist for PA XP 2.1. 5.1 HP-UX Web Client Not Supported ----------------------------------- PA XP no longer supports HP-UX hosts as web clients. 5.2 GUI Client and PCAnywhere ------------------------------ When PCAnywhere is installed on a host that will be used to start the PA XP GUI client browser (either a PA XP management station or any PA XP GUI client host), the PA XP GUI client browser may hang after you enter the user name and password. Workaround: Install DirectX 9B or later on the host where PCAnywhere is installed. 5.3 Installing Command View XP on Existing PA XP Management Station ------------------------------------------------------------ You can install Command View XP 2.1 and PA XP 2.1 in any order. If you want to install Command View XP 2.0 on an existing PA XP 2.1 management station, use the following procedure. Refer to the PA XP and Command View XP installation guides for step-by-step procedures. a. Run the Backup/Restore utility as described in the HP StorageWorks Performance Advisor XP Installation Guide. b. Uninstall PA XP from the management station. c. Install Command View XP 2.0 on the management station. d. Reinstall PA XP 2.1 on the management station. e. Run the Backup/Restore utility to restore the PA XP management station data files. 5.4 Delay in Initial Data Collection ------------------------------------- The first disk array data collection will take longer than the configured frequency because PA XP must first collect configuration information from the array before collecting its performance data. After this initial collection cycle, subsequent data collection cycles will be the same as the frequency configured within PA XP. If you modify the frequency or request data from the Host Information window, an initial data collection is triggered, which results in the delayed data collection described above. 5.5 Slow Data Loading in ArrayView Window ------------------------------------------ Data loading in the ArrayView window may be delayed if you are viewing data from multiple XP disk arrays. PA XP waits until data from all expected arrays is collected before displaying the data on this window. 5.6 Browser Refresh Button Exits PA XP --------------------------------------- Clicking the web browser's Refresh button exits PA XP. To obtain the latest data on the main window, exit PA XP, then log back in. To obtain the latest data on the Configuration window, click the Configuration tab on the main window. 5.7 Command View Data for Performance Estimator Feature not Propagated When SSL Enabled ------------------------------------------------------------ Command View data cannot be propagated to PA XP management stations working in SSL mode. If PA XP and Command View XP are installed on the same management station and a second instance of PA XP is installed on another management station on which SSL is enabled, then the first PA XP management station cannot propagate Command View XP data to the second PA XP management station. This data is required in order for the Performance Estimator feature to work properly. 5.8 Maximum Number of Data Points on Chart Window -------------------------------------------------- The Chart window displays a maximum of 1000 data points even if the selected time range contains more than 1000 data points. 5.9 Possible Limitation with High Number of LUNs per Port on XP1024/XP128 ---------------------------------------------------------- If an XP1024 or XP128 has more than 256 LUNs on a port, PA XP may not report the additional LUNs. 5.10 Recommended Maximum Number of Hosts for Remote Host Agent Deployment Tool -------------------------------------------------------- Depending on the management station's processor speed and network stability, deploying the host agent to a large number of hosts at the same time may fail. HP recommends deploying a maximum of five hosts at a time when using the remote host agent deployment tool. 5.11 United Linux Kernel 2.4.19 not Supported --------------------------------------------- The Support tab displays a link to download the United Linux Kernel 2.4.19 Host Agent. However, XP disk arrays and PA XP no longer support this kernel version. Workaround: Upgrade the host to United Linux kernel 2.4.21, which is supported by XP arrays and PA XP. 5.12 LUN ID for XP12000 LUNs ---------------------------- The Grid Display screen displays LUN ID equal to zero for all XP12000 LUNs. 5.13 Maximum LDEV for Data Collection ------------------------------------- To ensure optimal performance and results, the maximum number of LDEVs for data collection is 6000. This is the total number of LDEVs across all arrays that are visible to a particular Host Agent. You can restrict the total number of LDEVs visible to a Host Agent by restricting which arrays are visible to the host on which the Host Agent is running. 5.14 Incorrect Port to SLPR Mapping ----------------------------------- The Grid Display Port Summary screen may display incorrect port to SLPR mapping for SLPR LDEVs that are assigned across different SLPR ports. Workaround: Use the new SLPR Detail View screen to see the correct port to SLPR mapping. From the Grid Display screen, double-click a value (in blue) in the SLPR column to display the SLPR Detail View screen. 5.15 Column Headings Interchanged on Port Summary Screen -------------------------------------------------------- The Avg IO/s and Min IO/s and the Avg MB/s and Min MB/s column headings are interchanged on the Port Summary Screen. 5.16 Incorrect Year Value for dkcs Command ------------------------------------------ The year value in the Record Date of the dkcs CLUI output is incorrect. ============= 6.0 APPENDIX ============= 6.1 Documentation provided on Performance Advisor CD 1 ------------------------------------------------------ CLUI.pdf (Command Line Interface document) InstallGuide.pdf (Installation instructions) UserGuide.pdf (A user guide for the PA XP interface) Docs\CONFIG.HTML (Instructions on configuring PA XP ) Docs\INDEX.HTML (An index of PA XP documentation) Docs\INTRODUCTION.HTML (An introduction to PA XP) Docs\TRADEMARKS.HTML (A list of trademarks) Docs\TROUBLESHOOTING.HTML (Instructions on troubleshooting PA XP)