HP StorageWorks SAN Virtualization Services Platform Manager command line interface user guide (AG781-96016, March 2009)

1 Overview
The HP StorageWorks SAN Virtualization Services Platform (SVSP) solution enables virtualization for
Enterprise Virtual Arrays (EVAs) and other approved storage systems using hardware and software.
This guide provides information on the Virtualization Services Manger (VSM) commands entered at
the command line interface (CLI) of a server running an SVSP supported operating system and connected
to the SVSP domain through the special CLI interface device.
Scope
The VSM application programming interface (API) and CLI allows storage arrays to perform
sophisticated virtualization tasks by calling functions from a VSM library loaded in every client server.
This VSM library communicates with the VSM device driver and with the VSM itself.
The goal of the VSM APIs and CLI is to create simple APIs for complex virtualization functions in such
a way that working with the VSM is simplified by the use of these well-defined library functions. The
ability to pass input/output (I/O) controls through the storage area network (SAN) and not through
the local area network (LAN) also enhances the reliability of operations, because generally, the SAN
has redundant components.
The APIs and CLI commands are operating system independent (except where noted).
Constraints on name strings
Name strings are limited to 31 characters, followed by a zero-terminating character. Name strings
of VSM objects (virtual disks, points-in-time, snapshots, and so on) are case sensitive. Name strings
that contain spaces must be surrounded by quotation marks. They also must use only printable
characters, and not contain the following characters:
" : ; , * % { } [ ] ' ~ / \ ? < > |
Names containing white spaces or special symbols (tildes, quotes, dashes, and so on) must be enclosed
between quotation marks to avoid problems in parsing the command line. Also, the decimal symbol
in some regions is a comma (for example, 1,24), which is normally used as an argument separator.
Consequently, enclose numbers with a decimal symbol between quotation marks to avoid this problem.
Known limitations
Working with dynamic volumes in Windows 2003/2008
• In Microsoft Windows 2003 or 2008, partition numbers are not applicable to dynamic volumes.
Consequently, the mount/unmount volume APIs and CLI commands cannot distinguish between
multiple dynamic volumes that are defined on same dynamic disks. As a result, the current limitation
is that only one dynamic volume (file system) is allowed per one VSM virtual disk, and its partition
number is always 1.
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