Qtier

Qtier empowers automated-tiering storage solutions that moves hot data to high-performance storage tiers and cold data to lower-cost, higher-capacity drives, allowing businesses to enjoy exceptional application performance and lower TCO of storage at the same time. This chapter covers the following topics:

•	Creating Storage Space with Qtier

•	Managing Auto Tiering

•	Monitoring Auto-Tiering Performance

Note: This function or its content is only applicable on some models and requires a minimum of 8GB RAM. To check for applicable models, please refer to the product comparison table on the QNAP website.

Creating Storage Space with Qtier

1.	Install different types of drives in the NAS.

2.	Create a new storage pool in "Storage Manager" > "Storage Space" > "Create New Storage Pool".

3.	The storage pool creation wizard will appear, tick "Enable storage auto tiering" in the "Select Storage Pool Type" step and click "Next".

4.	Select the SSD drives to build the ultra-high speed tier. Follow the onscreen steps to finish setting the first tier.

5.	Confirm to create other tiers.

6.	Proceed to create different tiers. Select the drives to build other tiers.

7.	After all the tiers are built, confirm your settings shown in the summary report.

8.	Enable and set the auto tiering schedule (the system will relocate the data based on this schedule.)

9.	The storage pool configured for auto tiering will be labeled "Auto Tiering" and you can now create a volume or LUN in it.

Note:

•	As relocation may affect the storage I/O performance, it is recommended to schedule this action during off-peak hours or when the storage is not frequently used.

•	Auto Tiering cannot be started immediately after a storage pool is created, as it will need time to retrieve information on when data is accessed. It also cannot be scheduled for full time, otherwise the data access pattern may not be accurate.

Managing Auto Tiering

Double click a storage pool that is labeled "Auto Tiering" in "Storage Manager" > "Storage Space" and a storage pool management dialog will appear. Scroll down and click "Manage". The following actions are available:

Action

Description

Pause Relocations

Pause allocation.

Relocation Schedule

Set an auto tiering schedule.

Statistics

Review the general information for each tier and history report.

Set Relocation Rate

Set the data relocation rate and data reservation ratio for the ultra-high speed tier. There are three levels for both options: low, medium and high.

•	Data relocation rate: If it is set to low, the NAS will not use many system resources during data migration and therefore will minimize the performance impact. A "high" setting will prioritize the data migration and use additional system resources, potentially impacting other NAS services.

•	Data reservation ratio for the ultra-high speed tier: Choose the amount of data to retain in the ultra high speed tier (even though they are cold data.)

Set Allocation Level

Choose the highest priority tier to allocate data. There are two options: ultra-high speed and capacity. If "ultra-high speed" is chosen, all new data will be written on the SSD tier unless it is full. If "capacity" is selected, all new data will be written on the SATA tier and then moved to the SSD after being relocated by Auto Tiering.

Monitoring Auto-Tiering Performance

On the Storage Pool Management dialog (bottom of the dialog), the current auto-tiering settings and performance will be listed:

•	Relocation status: Indicates if Auto Tiering is active (or idle).

•	Enable schedule: Indicates if the schedule is enabled.

•	Data relocation rate: Indicates the level of resources the system will use for data migration. A high setting will prioritize the data migration and use additional system resources, potentially impacting other NAS services.

•	Data reservation ratio for ultra-high speed tier: Indicates the amount of data currently set to be retained in the ultra-high speed tier.

•	Amount of data optimized for performance: Shows the amount of data that has been allocated to high-speed tiers (or the "Move Down" or "Move Up" columns in "Manage" > "Statistics") in the last auto tiering schedule.

•	Amount of data optimized for capacity: Shows the amount of data that have been allocated to high speed tiers (or the "Move Down" or "Move Up" columns in "Manage" > "Statistics") in the last auto tiering schedule.

•	Data allocation priority: Indicates whether data will be written on the SSD tier if the "ultra-high speed" is set in "Manage" or first written on the SATA tier and then the SSD if "Capacity" is set in "Manage"

Additionally, you can check the history report ("Manage" > "Statistics" > "History report") for further details on Auto-Tiering performance, including data moved up/down in a task, total used space after task completion and the current tasks with a trend chart.

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Qtier (Auto Tiering)
Qtier (Auto Tiering)