6.5

Table Of Contents
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Network File System (NFS) - The NFS client built into ESXi uses the NFS protocol over TCP/IP to access
a designated NFS volume that is located on a NAS server. The ESXi host can mount the volume and use
it for its storage needs. vSphere supports versions 3 and 4.1 of the NFS protocol. Typically, the NFS
volume or directory is created by a storage administrator and is exported form the NFS server. The NFS
volumes do not need to be formaed with a local le system, such as VMFS. You can mount the
volumes directly and use them to store and boot virtual machines in the same way that you use VMFS
datastores. The host can access a designated NFS volume located on an NFS server, mount the volume,
and use it for any storage needs.
You manage NAS storage devices from the vSphere Web Client or with the esxcli storage nfs
command. The diagram below illustrates dierent types of storage, but it is for conceptual purposes
only. It is not a recommended conguration.
Figure 31. Virtual Machines Accessing Different Types of Storage
iSCSI array
VMFS VMFS
LAN LAN
iSCSI
hardware
initiator
ethernet
NIC
Host
requires TCP/IP connectivity
software
initiator
NAS
appliance
NFS
LAN
ethernet
NIC
fibre
array
VMFS
VMFS
LAN
fibre
channel
HBA
local
ethernet
SCSI
Managing the Virtual Machine File System with vmkfstools
VMFS datastores primarily serve as repositories for virtual machines.
You can store multiple virtual machines on the same VMFS volume. Each virtual machine, encapsulated in a
set of les, occupies a separate single directory. For the operating system inside the virtual machine, VMFS
preserves the internal le system semantics.
In addition, you can use the VMFS datastores to store other les, such as virtual machine templates and ISO
images. VMFS supports le and block sizes that enable virtual machines to run data-intensive applications,
including databases, ERP, and CRM, in virtual machines. See the vSphere Storage documentation.
vSphere Command-Line Interface Concepts and Examples
30 VMware, Inc.