> We are trying to decide which 3390 model to configure in our incoming
> storage device (probably emc but could be shark). The point of
interest is
> which model provides the least amount of 'wasted' space due to
overhead
> requirements. 

The flippant smart-ass answer is "configure it as FCP-based FBA storage
and forget the 3390 emulation if you plan to use it for Linux data", but
the question is a good one. If you're running under VM, it matters a lot
less what the physical size of the disk volumes are. Minidisks can be
any size less than or equal to the physical volume size, so bigger
physical volumes are usually simpler to manage from a tool-management
perspective (fewer updates to the DIRMAINT config), but do impose a
performance penalty for access time. We find mod 9s are good
compromises, but you may want some mod-27s or mod-54s for DBMS apps or
other things that you're going to LVM together to get bigger hunks of
space. 

There are tradeoffs with # of spindles vs capacity that play out in
application performance and manageability, too -- remember, only 1 I/O
outstanding per subchannel id for ECKD. Depending on the access
characteristics, your guests may benefit from LVMs created on multiple
physical volumes that map to different areas in the storage box, or the
storage box may try to be too smart for it's own good and "optimize"
away any advantage. Actual data placement will be worth examining. 

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