6.0.1

Create Intra-VM Anti-Affinity Rules
You can create a VMDK anti-affinity rule for a virtual machine that indicates which of its virtual disks must
be kept on different datastores.
VMDK anti-affinity rules apply to the virtual machine for which the rule is defined, not to all virtual
machines. The rule is expressed as a list of virtual disks that are to be separated from one another.
If you attempt to set an intra-VM anti-affinity rule and an intra-VM affinity rule for a virtual machine,
vCenter Server rejects the most recently defined rule.
If a virtual machine is subject to a VMDK anti-affinity rule, the following behavior applies:
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Storage DRS places the virtual machine's virtual disks according to the rule.
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Storage DRS migrates the virtual disks using vMotion according to the rule, even if the migration is for
a mandatory reason such as putting a datastore in maintenance mode.
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If the virtual machine's virtual disk violates the rule, Storage DRS makes migration recommendations to
correct the error or reports the violation as a fault if it cannot make a recommendation that will correct
the error.
No intra-VM anti-affinity rules are defined by default.
Procedure
1 Browse to the datastore cluster in the vSphere Web Client navigator.
2 Click the Manage tab and click Settings.
3 Under Configuration, select Rules.
4 Click Add.
5 Type a name for the rule.
6 From the Type menu, select VMDK anti-affinity.
7 Click Add.
8 Click Select Virtual Machine.
9 Select a virtual machine and click OK.
10 Select at least two virtual disks to which the rule applies and click OK.
11 Click OK to save the rule.
Override VMDK Affinity Rules
VMDK affinity rules indicate that all virtual disks in a datastore cluster that are associated with a particular
virtual machine are located on the same datastore in the datastore cluster. The rules apply to individual
datastore clusters.
VMDK affinity rules are enabled by default for all virtual machines that are in a datastore cluster. You can
override the default setting for the datastore cluster or for individual virtual machines.
Virtual machines that are subject to VMDK affinity rules have the following behavior:
n
Storage DRS places the virtual machine's virtual disks according to the rule.
n
Storage DRS migrates the virtual disks using vMotion according to the rule, even if the migration is for
a mandatory reason such as putting a datastore in maintenance mode.
Chapter 13 Using Datastore Clusters to Manage Storage Resources
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