6.0.1
Table Of Contents
- vSphere Storage
- Contents
- About vSphere Storage
- Updated Information
- Introduction to Storage
- Overview of Using ESXi with a SAN
- Using ESXi with Fibre Channel SAN
- Configuring Fibre Channel Storage
- Configuring Fibre Channel over Ethernet
- Booting ESXi from Fibre Channel SAN
- Booting ESXi with Software FCoE
- Best Practices for Fibre Channel Storage
- Using ESXi with iSCSI SAN
- Configuring iSCSI Adapters and Storage
- ESXi iSCSI SAN Requirements
- ESXi iSCSI SAN Restrictions
- Setting LUN Allocations for iSCSI
- Network Configuration and Authentication
- Set Up Independent Hardware iSCSI Adapters
- About Dependent Hardware iSCSI Adapters
- Dependent Hardware iSCSI Considerations
- Configure Dependent Hardware iSCSI Adapters
- About the Software iSCSI Adapter
- Modify General Properties for iSCSI Adapters
- Setting Up iSCSI Network
- Using Jumbo Frames with iSCSI
- Configuring Discovery Addresses for iSCSI Adapters
- Configuring CHAP Parameters for iSCSI Adapters
- Configuring Advanced Parameters for iSCSI
- iSCSI Session Management
- Booting from iSCSI SAN
- Best Practices for iSCSI Storage
- Managing Storage Devices
- Storage Device Characteristics
- Understanding Storage Device Naming
- Storage Refresh and Rescan Operations
- Identifying Device Connectivity Problems
- Edit Configuration File Parameters
- Enable or Disable the Locator LED on Storage Devices
- Working with Flash Devices
- About VMware vSphere Flash Read Cache
- Working with Datastores
- Understanding VMFS Datastores
- Understanding Network File System Datastores
- Creating Datastores
- Managing Duplicate VMFS Datastores
- Upgrading VMFS Datastores
- Increasing VMFS Datastore Capacity
- Administrative Operations for Datastores
- Set Up Dynamic Disk Mirroring
- Collecting Diagnostic Information for ESXi Hosts on a Storage Device
- Checking Metadata Consistency with VOMA
- Configuring VMFS Pointer Block Cache
- Understanding Multipathing and Failover
- Raw Device Mapping
- Working with Virtual Volumes
- Virtual Machine Storage Policies
- Upgrading Legacy Storage Profiles
- Understanding Virtual Machine Storage Policies
- Working with Virtual Machine Storage Policies
- Creating and Managing VM Storage Policies
- Storage Policies and Virtual Machines
- Default Storage Policies
- Assign Storage Policies to Virtual Machines
- Change Storage Policy Assignment for Virtual Machine Files and Disks
- Monitor Storage Compliance for Virtual Machines
- Check Compliance for a VM Storage Policy
- Find Compatible Storage Resource for Noncompliant Virtual Machine
- Reapply Virtual Machine Storage Policy
- Filtering Virtual Machine I/O
- VMkernel and Storage
- Storage Hardware Acceleration
- Hardware Acceleration Benefits
- Hardware Acceleration Requirements
- Hardware Acceleration Support Status
- Hardware Acceleration for Block Storage Devices
- Hardware Acceleration on NAS Devices
- Hardware Acceleration Considerations
- Storage Thick and Thin Provisioning
- Using Storage Providers
- Using vmkfstools
- vmkfstools Command Syntax
- vmkfstools Options
- -v Suboption
- File System Options
- Virtual Disk Options
- Supported Disk Formats
- Creating a Virtual Disk
- Example for Creating a Virtual Disk
- Initializing a Virtual Disk
- Inflating a Thin Virtual Disk
- Removing Zeroed Blocks
- Converting a Zeroedthick Virtual Disk to an Eagerzeroedthick Disk
- Deleting a Virtual Disk
- Renaming a Virtual Disk
- Cloning or Converting a Virtual Disk or RDM
- Example for Cloning or Converting a Virtual Disk
- Migrate Virtual Machines Between DifferentVMware Products
- Extending a Virtual Disk
- Upgrading Virtual Disks
- Creating a Virtual Compatibility Mode Raw Device Mapping
- Example for Creating a Virtual Compatibility Mode RDM
- Creating a Physical Compatibility Mode Raw Device Mapping
- Listing Attributes of an RDM
- Displaying Virtual Disk Geometry
- Checking and Repairing Virtual Disks
- Checking Disk Chain for Consistency
- Storage Device Options
- Index
Figure 1‑5. Target and LUN Representations
storage array
target
LUN LUN LUN
storage array
target target target
LUN LUN LUN
In this illustration, three LUNs are available in each conguration. In one case, the host sees one target, but
that target has three LUNs that can be used. Each LUN represents an individual storage volume. In the
other example, the host sees three dierent targets, each having one LUN.
Targets that are accessed through the network have unique names that are provided by the storage systems.
The iSCSI targets use iSCSI names, while Fibre Channel targets use World Wide Names (WWNs).
N ESXi does not support accessing the same LUN through dierent transport protocols, such as iSCSI
and Fibre Channel.
A device, or LUN, is identied by its UUID name. If a LUN is shared by multiple hosts, it must be presented
to all hosts with the same UUID.
Storage Device Characteristics
You can display all storage devices or LUNs available to the host, including all local and networked devices.
If you use third-party multipathing plug-ins, the storage devices available through the plug-ins also appear
on the list.
For each storage adapter, you can display a separate list of storage devices available for this adapter.
Generally, when you review storage devices, you see the following information.
Table 1‑1. Storage Device Information
Storage Device Information Description
Name Also called Display Name. It is a name that the ESXi host assigns to the device based on
the storage type and manufacturer. You can change this name to a name of your choice.
Identier A universally unique identier that is intrinsic to the device.
Operational State Indicates whether the device is mounted or unmounted. For details, see “Detach
Storage Devices,” on page 128.
LUN Logical Unit Number (LUN) within the SCSI target. The LUN number is provided by
the storage system. If a target has only one LUN, the LUN number is always zero (0).
Type Type of device, for example, disk or CD-ROM.
Drive Type Information about whether the device is a ash drive or a regular HDD drive. For
information about ash drives, see Chapter 14, “Working with Flash Devices,” on
page 133.
Transport Transportation protocol your host uses to access the device. The protocol depends on
the type of storage being used. See “Types of Physical Storage,” on page 14.
Capacity Total capacity of the storage device.
Owner The plug-in, such as the NMP or a third-party plug-in, that the host uses to manage
paths to the storage device. For details, see “Managing Multiple Paths,” on page 188.
Hardware Acceleration Information about whether the storage device assists the host with virtual machine
management operations. The status can be Supported, Not Supported, or Unknown.
For details, see Chapter 23, “Storage Hardware Acceleration,” on page 259.
Location
A path to the storage device in the /vmfs/devices/ directory.
vSphere Storage
18 VMware, Inc.