System information

Requirements for Using NPIV
If you plan to enable NPIV on your virtual machines, you should be aware of certain requirements and
limitations.
The following requirements and limitations exist:
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NPIV can only be used for virtual machines with RDM disks. Virtual machines with regular virtual disks
use the WWNs of the host’s physical HBAs.
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For this implementation of NPIV, the physical HBAs on an ESX/ESXi host, using their own WWNs, must
have access to all LUNs that are to be accessed by virtual machines running on that host.
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The ESX/ESXi host’s physical HBAs must support NPIV. Currently, the following vendors and types of
HBA provide this support:
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QLogic – any 4GB HBA.
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Emulex – 4GB HBAs that have NPIV-compatible firmware.
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Only four WWN pairs are generated per virtual machine.
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When a virtual machine or template with a WWN assigned to it is cloned, the clones do not retain the
WWN.
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The switches used must be NPIV-aware.
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When configuring an NPIV LUN for access at the storage level, make sure that the NPIV LUN number
and NPIV target ID match the physical LUN and Target ID.
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Always use the vSphere Client to manipulate virtual machines with WWNs.
CAUTION Disabling and then re-enabling the NPIV capability on an FC switch while virtual machines are
running can cause an FC link to fail and I/O to stop.
Assign WWNs to Virtual Machines
You can assign a WWN to a new virtual machine with an RDM disk when you create this virtual machine, or
to an existing virtual machine you can temporarily power off.
Procedure
1 From the vSphere Client, click Inventory in the navigation bar, and expand the inventory as needed.
2 In the inventory list, select the managed host to which you want to add a new virtual machine.
3 Select File > New > Virtual Machine.
The New Virtual Machine wizard appears.
4 Select Custom, and click Next.
5 Type a virtual machine name, and click Next.
6 Select a folder or the root of a datacenter, and click Next.
7 If the resource pool option is available, expand the tree until you locate the resource pool in which you
want to run the virtual machine, highlight it, and click Next.
8 Select a datastore in which to store the virtual machine files, and click Next.
9 Under Guest operating system, select the operating system family (Microsoft Windows, Linux, Novell
NetWare, Solaris, or Other).
10 Select the version from the pull-down menu, and click Next.
Fibre Channel SAN Configuration Guide
58 VMware, Inc.