6.0.1

In addition to hardware acceleration support, ESXi includes support for array thin provisioning. For
information, see “Array Thin Provisioning and VMFS Datastores,” on page 273.
Disable Hardware Acceleration for Block Storage Devices
On your host, the hardware acceleration for block storage devices is enabled by default. You can use the
vSphere Web Client advanced seings to disable the hardware acceleration operations.
As with any advanced seings, before you disable the hardware acceleration, consult with the VMware
support team.
Procedure
1 Browse to the host in the vSphere Web Client navigator.
2 Click the Manage tab, and click .
3 Under System, click Advanced System .
4 Change the value for any of the options to 0 (disabled):
n
VMFS3.HardwareAcceleratedLocking
n
DataMover.HardwareAcceleratedMove
n
DataMover.HardwareAcceleratedInit
Managing Hardware Acceleration on Block Storage Devices
To integrate with the block storage arrays and to benet from the array hardware operations, vSphere uses
the ESXi extensions referred to as Storage APIs - Array Integration, formerly called VAAI.
In the vSphere 5.x and later releases, these extensions are implemented as the T10 SCSI based commands. As
a result, with the devices that support the T10 SCSI standard, your ESXi host can communicate directly and
does not require the VAAI plug-ins.
If the device does not support T10 SCSI or provides partial support, ESXi reverts to using the VAAI plug-ins,
installed on your host, or uses a combination of the T10 SCSI commands and plug-ins. The VAAI plug-ins
are vendor-specic and can be either VMware or partner developed. To manage the VAAI capable device,
your host aaches the VAAI lter and vendor-specic VAAI plug-in to the device.
For information about whether your storage requires VAAI plug-ins or supports hardware acceleration
through T10 SCSI commands, see the VMware Compatibility Guide or check with your storage vendor.
You can use several esxcli commands to query storage devices for the hardware acceleration support
information. For the devices that require the VAAI plug-ins, the claim rule commands are also available. For
information about esxcli commands, see Geing Started with vSphere Command-Line Interfaces.
Display Hardware Acceleration Plug-Ins and Filter
To communicate with the devices that do not support the T10 SCSI standard, your host uses a combination
of a single VAAI lter and a vendor-specic VAAI plug-in. Use the esxcli command to view the hardware
acceleration lter and plug-ins currently loaded into your system.
In the procedure, --server=server_name species the target server. The specied target server prompts you
for a user name and password. Other connection options, such as a conguration le or session le, are
supported. For a list of connection options, see Geing Started with vSphere Command-Line Interfaces.
Prerequisites
Install vCLI or deploy the vSphere Management Assistant (vMA) virtual machine. See Geing Started with
vSphere Command-Line Interfaces. For troubleshooting, run esxcli commands in the ESXi Shell.
Chapter 23 Storage Hardware Acceleration
VMware, Inc. 261