System and method for reporting available capacity in a data storage system with variable consumption characteristics

摘要

A data storage system has an administrator tool (46) that presents an existing Logical Storage Unit (LUN) arrangement composed of one or more types of LUNs and an available capacity for the existing LUN arrangement. The administrator tool provides a graphical user interface (UI) (48) that allows the administrator to propose different configurations with one or more additional hypothetical LUNs, without in fact creating them. The UI (48) provides a set of controls representative of the different LUN types. The administrator can graphically manipulate the controls to vary characteristics of the hypothetical LUNs. As the administrator manipulates the controls, the system dynamically computes available capacity assuming a LUN arrangement that includes both the existing LUNs and the hypothetical LUNs. The graphical UI reports the changing available capacity as a response to the administrator's manipulation so that the administrator can gain an appreciation of how the hypothetical LUNs might affect available capacity. Assuming there is sufficient available capacity, the administrator can direct the system to create new LUNs having the same characteristics of the hypothetical LUNs.