6.5

Table Of Contents
Managing Third-Party Storage Arrays 6
VMware partners and customers can optimize performance of their storage arrays in conjunction with
VMware vSphere by using VMware PSA (pluggable storage architecture). The esxcli storage core
namespace manages VMware PSA and the esxcli storage nmp namespace manages the VMware NMP
plug-in.
The vSphere Storage documentation discusses PSA functionality in detail and explains how to use the
vSphere Web Client to manage the PSA, the associated native multipathing plug-in (NMP), and third-party
plug-ins.
This chapter uses the following acronyms.
Acronym Meaning
PSA Pluggable Storage Architecture
NMP Native Multipathing Plug-in. Generic VMware multipathing module.
PSP Path Selection Plug-in. Handles path selection for a given device.
SATP Storage Array Type Plug-in. Handles path failover for a given storage array.
This chapter includes the following topics:
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“Managing NMP with esxcli storage nmp,” on page 101
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“Path Claiming with esxcli storage core claiming,” on page 108
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“Managing Claim Rules,” on page 110
Managing NMP with esxcli storage nmp
The NMP is an extensible multipathing module that ESXi supports by default. You can use esxcli storage
nmp to manage devices associated with NMP and to set path policies.
The NMP supports all storage arrays listed on the VMware storage Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) and
provides a path selection algorithm based on the array type. The NMP associates a set of physical paths with
a storage device (LUN). An SATP determines how path failover is handled for a specic storage array. A PSP
determines which physical path is used to issue an I/O request to a storage device. SATPs and PSPs are
plug-ins within the NMP.
VMware, Inc.
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