Specifications

Administration Guide
248 VMware, Inc.
VMFS Accessibility
There!are!two!modes!for!accessing!VMFS!volumes:!public!and!shared.
! public!–!The!default!mode!for!ESX!Server.!
With!a!public!VMFS!version!1!(VMFS‐1)!volume,!multiple!ESX!Server!computers!
can!access!the!VMware!ESX!Server!file!system,!as!long!as!the!VMFS!volume!is!on!
a!shared!storage!system!(for!example,!a!VMFS!on!a!storage!area!network).!Only
!
one!ESX!Server!can!access!the!VMFS!volume!at!a!time.
With!a!public!VMFS!version!2!(VMFS‐2)!volumes,!multiple!ESX!Server!computers!
can!access!the!VMware!ESX!Server!file!system!concurrently.!VMware!ESX!Server!
file!systems!with!a!public!mode!have!automatic!locking!to!ensure!file!system!
consistency.
! shared!–!Used!for!a!VMFS!volume!that!is!used!for!failover‐based!clustering!among!
virtual!machines!on!the!same!or!different!ESX!Servers.!
For!more!information!on!clustering!with!ESX!Server,!see!“Configuration!for!
Clustering”!on!page 279.
VMFS Accessibility on a SAN
Any!VMFS!volume!on!a!disk!that!is!on!a!SAN!should!have!VMFS!accessibility!set!to!
public!or!shared.!Public,!the!default!and!recommended!accessibility!mode,!makes!the!
VMFS!volume!available!to!multiple!physical!servers,!and!to!the!virtual!machines!on!
those!servers.!With!VMFS‐2!volumes,!public!access!
is!concurrent!to!multiple!physical!
servers,!whereas!for!VMFS‐1!volumes,!public!access!is!limited!to!a!single!server!at!a!
time.!See!“Using!Storage!Area!Networks!with!ESX!Server”!on!page 266.
Changing Storage Configuration Options
To create or modify disk partitions through the VMware Management Interface
1Log!in!to!the!VMware!Management!Interface!as!root.
The!Status!Monitor!appears.
2Click!the!Options!tab.
3Click!Storage!Configuration.
N
OTE In!ESX!Server!2!and!later,!private!VMFS!volumes!are!deprecated.!If!you!have!existing!
VMFS!version!1!(VMFS‐1)!or!VMFS!version!2!(VMFS‐2)!private!volumes,!you!can!
continue!to!use!them,!but!VMware!recommends!that!you!change!the!access!mode!to!
public.!There!is!no!performance!penalty!in
!making!this!change.