6.0.1

Assign the I/O Filter Policy to Virtual Machines
To activate data services that I/O lters provide, associate the I/O lter policy with virtual disks. You can
assign the policy when you create or edit a virtual machine.
You can assign the I/O lter policy during an initial deployment of a virtual machine. This topic describes
how to assign the policy when you create a new virtual machine. For information about other deployment
methods, see the vSphere Virtual Machine Administration documentation.
N You cannot change or assign the I/O lter policy when migrating or cloning a virtual machine.
Prerequisites
Verify that the I/O lter is installed on the ESXi host where the virtual machine will run.
Procedure
1 In the vSphere Web Client, start the virtual machine provisioning process and follow the appropriate
steps.
2 On the Select Storage page, select the I/O lter policy from the VM Storage Policy drop-down menu.
3 Select the datastore from the list of available datastores and click Next.
The datastore becomes the destination storage resource for the virtual machine conguration le and all
virtual disks. The policy also activates I/O lter services for the virtual disks.
4 Complete the virtual machine provisioning process.
After you create the virtual machine, the Summary tab displays the assigned storage policies and their
compliance status.
What to do next
You can later change the virtual policy assignment. See “Change Storage Policy Assignment for Virtual
Machine Files and Disks,” on page 238.
Managing I/O Filters
You can run the installer provided by your vendor to install, uninstall, or upgrade I/O lters.
When you work with I/O lters, the following considerations apply:
n
vCenter Server uses ESX Agent Manager (EAM) to install and uninstall I/O lters. As an administrator,
you should never invoke EAM APIs directly for EAM agencies that are created or used by
vCenter Server. All operations related to I/O lters must go through VIM APIs. If you accidentally
modify an EAM agency that was created by vCenter Server, you must revert the changes. If you
accidentally destroy an EAM agency that is used by I/O lters, you must call
Vim.IoFilterManager#uninstallIoFilter to uninstall the aected I/O lters. After uninstalling, perform
a fresh reinstall.
n
When a new host joins the cluster that has I/O lters, the lters installed on the cluster are deployed on
the host. vCenter Server registers the I/O lter storage provider for the host. Any cluster changes
become visible in the VM Storage Policies interface of the vSphere Web Client.
n
When you move a host out of a cluster or remove it from vCenter Server, the I/O lters are uninstalled
from the host. vCenter Server unregisters the host's I/O lter storage provider after the lters are
uninstalled.
n
If you use a stateless ESXi host, it might lose its I/O lter VIBs during a reboot. vCenter Server checks
the bundles installed on the host after it reboots, and pushes the I/O lter VIBs to the host if necessary.
Chapter 21 Filtering Virtual Machine I/O
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