Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Vsphere Esxi Vcenter Server 551 Storage Guide
Vsphere Esxi Vcenter Server 551 Storage Guide
Update 1
ESXi 5.5
vCenter Server 5.5
This document supports the version of each product listed and
supports all subsequent versions until the document is
replaced by a new edition. To check for more recent editions
of this document, see http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.
EN-001354-01
vSphere Storage
2 VMware, Inc.
You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware Web site at:
http://www.vmware.com/support/
The VMware Web site also provides the latest product updates.
If you have comments about this documentation, submit your feedback to:
docfeedback@vmware.com
Copyright
20092014 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright and trademark information.
VMware, Inc.
3401 Hillview Ave.
Palo Alto, CA 94304
www.vmware.com
Contents
About vSphere Storage 9
Updated Information 11
1 Introduction to Storage 13
Storage Virtualization 13
Types of Physical Storage 14
Target and Device Representations 18
Storage Device Characteristics 19
Supported Storage Adapters 20
Datastore Characteristics 21
How Virtual Machines Access Storage 24
Comparing Types of Storage 25
2 Overview of Using ESXi with a SAN 27
ESXi and SAN Use Cases 28
Specifics of Using SAN Storage with ESXi 28
ESXi Hosts and Multiple Storage Arrays 29
Making LUN Decisions 29
Choosing Virtual Machine Locations 30
Layered Applications 31
Third-Party Management Applications 32
SAN Storage Backup Considerations 32
3 Using ESXi with Fibre Channel SAN 35
Fibre Channel SAN Concepts 35
Using Zoning with Fibre Channel SANs 36
How Virtual Machines Access Data on a Fibre Channel SAN 37
4 Configuring Fibre Channel Storage 39
ESXi Fibre Channel SAN Requirements 39
Installation and Setup Steps 40
N-Port ID Virtualization 41
5 Configuring Fibre Channel over Ethernet 45
Fibre Channel over Ethernet Adapters 45
Configuration Guidelines for Software FCoE 46
Set Up Networking for Software FCoE in the vSphere Web Client 46
Add Software FCoE Adapters in the vSphere Web Client 47
VMware, Inc. 3
6 Modifying Fibre Channel Storage for ESXi 49
Testing ESXi SAN Configurations 49
General Setup Considerations for Fibre Channel SAN Arrays 50
EMC CLARiiON Storage Systems in Fibre Channel SAN Configurations 50
EMC Symmetrix Storage Systems 51
IBM System Storage DS4800 Storage Systems 51
IBM Systems Storage 8000 and IBM ESS800 53
HP StorageWorks Storage Systems 53
Hitachi Data Systems Storage 54
NetApp Storage 54
LSI-Based Storage Systems 54
7 Booting ESXi from Fibre Channel SAN 55
Boot from SAN Benefits 55
Boot from Fibre Channel SAN Requirements and Considerations 56
Getting Ready for Boot from SAN 56
Configure Emulex HBA to Boot from SAN 58
Configure QLogic HBA to Boot from SAN 59
8 Booting ESXi with Software FCoE 61
Requirements and Considerations for Software FCoE Boot 61
Best Practices for Software FCoE Boot 62
Set Up Software FCoE Boot 62
Troubleshooting Installation and Boot from Software FCoE 63
9 Best Practices for Fibre Channel Storage 65
Preventing Fibre Channel SAN Problems 65
Disable Automatic Host Registration in the vSphere Web Client 66
Optimizing Fibre Channel SAN Storage Performance 66
Fibre Channel SAN Configuration Checklist 67
10 Using ESXi with iSCSI SAN 69
iSCSI SAN Concepts 69
How Virtual Machines Access Data on an iSCSI SAN 74
11 Configuring iSCSI Adapters and Storage 75
ESXi iSCSI SAN Requirements 76
ESXi iSCSI SAN Restrictions 76
Setting LUN Allocations for iSCSI 76
Network Configuration and Authentication 77
Setting Up Independent Hardware iSCSI Adapters 77
Configuring Dependent Hardware iSCSI Adapters 78
Configuring Software iSCSI Adapter 81
Modify General Properties for iSCSI Adapters 82
Setting Up iSCSI Network 83
Using Jumbo Frames with iSCSI 89
Configuring Discovery Addresses for iSCSI Adapters 90
Configuring CHAP Parameters for iSCSI Adapters 92
vSphere Storage
4 VMware, Inc.
Configuring Advanced Parameters for iSCSI 95
iSCSI Session Management 97
12 Modifying iSCSI Storage Systems for ESXi 101
Testing ESXi iSCSI SAN Configurations 101
General Considerations for iSCSI SAN Storage Systems 102
EMC CLARiiON Storage Systems 102
EMC Symmetrix Storage Systems 103
Enable HP StorageWorks MSA1510i to Communicate with ESXi 103
HP StorageWorks EVA Storage Systems 104
NetApp Storage Systems 105
Dell EqualLogic Storage Systems 105
HP StorageWorks SAN/iQ Storage Systems 106
iSCSI Targets in vApps 106
13 Booting from iSCSI SAN 107
General Boot from iSCSI SAN Recommendations 107
Prepare the iSCSI SAN 108
Configure Independent Hardware iSCSI Adapter for SAN Boot 108
iBFT iSCSI Boot Overview 109
14 Best Practices for iSCSI Storage 115
Preventing iSCSI SAN Problems 115
Optimizing iSCSI SAN Storage Performance 116
Checking Ethernet Switch Statistics 119
iSCSI SAN Configuration Checklist 119
15 Managing Storage Devices 121
Understanding Storage Device Naming 121
Storage Refresh and Rescan Operations 123
Identifying Device Connectivity Problems 124
16 Working with Datastores 133
Understanding VMFS Datastores 134
Understanding NFS Datastores 138
Creating Datastores 139
Change Datastore Name in the vSphere Web Client 141
Managing Duplicate VMFS Datastores 141
Upgrading VMFS Datastores 143
Increasing VMFS Datastore Capacity 144
Unmount VMFS or NFS Datastores 145
Mount VMFS Datastores 146
Remove VMFS Datastores in the vSphere Web Client 146
Storage Filtering 147
Set Up Dynamic Disk Mirroring 148
Creating a Diagnostic Partition 149
Checking Metadata Consistency with VOMA 151
Configuring VMFS Pointer Block Cache 152
Contents
VMware, Inc. 5
17 Raw Device Mapping 155
About Raw Device Mapping 155
Raw Device Mapping Characteristics 158
Create Virtual Machines with RDMs in the vSphere Web Client 160
Manage Paths for a Mapped LUN in the vSphere Web Client 161
18 Solid State Disks Enablement 163
Benefits of SSD Enablement 163
Auto-Detection of SSD Devices 164
Tag Devices as SSD 164
Untag an SSD Device 165
Untag an Automatically Detected SSD Device 166
Tag Devices as Local 166
Monitor SSD Devices 167
Identify SSD Devices 168
Identifying a Virtual SSD Device 168
Best Practices for SSD Devices 168
Swapping to Host Cache 169
Local SSDs Are Undetectable 170
19 Working with Virtual SAN 171
About Virtual SAN 171
Enabling Virtual SAN 178
Managing Disk Groups 181
Monitoring Virtual SAN 184
Managing Virtual SAN 185
Virtual SAN and Storage Policy-Based Management 186
20 About Virtual Machine Storage Policies 191
Understanding Storage Capabilities 191
Understanding Virtual Machine Storage Policies 193
21 About VMware vSphere Flash Read Cache 201
DRS Support for Flash Read Cache 202
vSphere High Availability Support for Flash Read Cache 202
Using Virtual Flash Resource to Configure a Swap Cache 202
Virtual Flash Volume Limits 202
Set Up Virtual Flash Resource 202
Set Up Multiple Virtual Flash Resources 203
Configure Host Swap Cache with Virtual Flash Resource 203
Configure Flash Read Cache for a Virtual Machine 204
Remove Virtual Flash Resource 204
Migrating Virtual Machines with Flash Read Cache 205
Using esxcli Commands with Virtual Flash 205
22 VMkernel and Storage 207
Storage APIs 208
vSphere Storage
6 VMware, Inc.
23 Understanding Multipathing and Failover 211
Failover with Fibre Channel 211
Host-Based Failover with iSCSI 212
Array-Based Failover with iSCSI 214
Path Failover and Virtual Machines 215
Managing Multiple Paths 216
VMware Multipathing Module 217
Path Scanning and Claiming 219
Managing Storage Paths and Multipathing Plug-Ins 222
24 Storage Hardware Acceleration 231
Hardware Acceleration Benefits 231
Hardware Acceleration Requirements 232
Hardware Acceleration Support Status 232
Hardware Acceleration for Block Storage Devices 232
Hardware Acceleration on NAS Devices 237
Hardware Acceleration Considerations 240
25 Storage Thin Provisioning 241
Storage Over-Subscription 241
Virtual Disk Thin Provisioning 241
Array Thin Provisioning and VMFS Datastores 245
26 Using Storage Providers 249
Storage Providers and Storage Data Representation 250
Storage Provider Requirements and Considerations 250
Storage Status Reporting 251
Register Storage Providers 251
Securing Communication with Storage Providers 252
View Storage Provider Information in the vSphere Web Client 252
Unregister Storage Providers in the vSphere Web Client 252
Update Storage Providers in the vSphere Web Client 253
27 Using vmkfstools 255
vmkfstools Command Syntax 255
vmkfstools Options 256
Index 265
Contents
VMware, Inc. 7
vSphere Storage
8 VMware, Inc.
About vSphere Storage
vSphere Storage describes storage options available to VMware