Manage the primary pool

Every backup/recovery appliance has one primary pool that contains metadata and log files for the backup/recovery appliance. No user data or backups are stored in the primary pool.

Create a disk to use with Primary pool

You can expand the existing primary pool by adding extra disks.

The following are the permissions required to create a disk to use with a primary pool:

• compute.disks.create on the project before you can create a new disk
• compute.instances.attachDisk on the virtual machine (VM) instance
• compute.disks.use permission on the disk to attach

Use the following instructions to create a disk to use with a primary pool:

1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the VM instances page and locate your backup/recovery appliance.
2. Check the box and click the name of the instance where you want to add a disk.
3. On the VM instance details page, click Edit.
4. Under Additional disks, click Add new disk.

5. Specify the following:

   • Name: Enter a name for the disk using the existing disk naming as a model.
   • Source: Select the Blank for the Source type.
   • Disk type: Select a disk type that matches the existing disks in the primary pool.
   • Size: We recommend primary pool disks are always 200GB in size.
   • Snapshot schedule: Leave the snapshot schedule to default.
   • Encryption: You can specify the encryption as Google-managed encryption key (GMEK) or Customer-managed encryption key (CMEK). Always use the same encryption type for all disks in the primary pool.

6. Click Save to complete the disk's configuration.

7. Click Save to apply your changes to the instance and add the new disk.

Note: Don't resize existing disks that are already assigned to the appliance. Always add new disks if additional capacity is required.

When you have added an additional disk to the appliance proceed to expand the existing primary pool.

Expand the primary pool

To expand an existing primary pool, first you need to create a new disk, and then follow these steps:

1. Click the Manage tab and select Appliances from the drop-down menu.
2. Select an appliance and click Configure Appliance to open the Appliance Configuration page.
3. From the left panel, select Storage Pools.
4. Select the Primary tab. The Primary Pools page opens.
5. Find the pool and select the pencil icon. The Manage Primary Pool window opens.
6. Select the MDisk(s) to include in this pool from the list of unmanaged disks by clicking on the appropriate + symbol. Use the search option to find the required MDisk(s). Selected MDisks appear in the right-hand panel. You can hold the mouse cursor over an MDisk record to see its status, including UID, controller, capacity, and more.
7. Click Submit. A warning dialog appears. Type PROCEED to confirm.

8. Click Confirm.

   Note: You cannot shrink an existing pool by removing MDisks. You can only expand a pool.

Impact of disabling or deleting CMEKs

If a backup/recovery appliance uses persistent disks that are encrypted with Customer Managed Encryption Keys (CMEK) then:

• If the key version is rotated, the attached disk will remain encrypted with the older key version. See Rotate your Cloud KMS encryption key for a persistent disk.
• If the key version in use by any disk attached to the backup/recovery appliance is disabled or deleted then the backup/recovery appliance won't be able to power on. See Disabling or deleting CMEKs.

View key version

To determine which key version is in use by a backup/recovery appliance:

1. Go to Compute Engine > VM instances.
2. Locate the backup/recovery appliance and select the instance name to open the details view for that instance.
3. Go to the Storage section and review all attached disks.
4. Select each disks name to view the key version.