User guide

Technical white paper | HP Enterprise Virtual Array Storage and VMware vSphere 4.x and 5.x configuration best practices
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Figure 2. The Storage module of the plug-in provides mapping from the virtual to the physical environment.
The Storage module enhances VMware functionality by detailing the relationships between the virtual and physical
environment. For example, Figure 2 shows the mapping from the virtual machine to the array on which it resides.
Understanding the physical infrastructure is crucial for making well-informed decisions when designing, deploying,
maintaining, and troubleshooting a virtual environment.
Best practice for mapping virtual objects to storage and for monitoring and provisioning storage
• Use the Storage Module for vCenter to save time and improve efficiency by mapping, monitoring, provisioning, and
troubleshooting EVA storage directly from vCenter.
For more information on the Storage Module for vCenter, refer to the HP Insight Control for VMware vCenter Server User
Guide.
Array hardware configuration and cabling
Best practices for EVA hardware configuration and cabling are well defined in the HP 6400/8400 Enterprise Virtual Array
user guide and, thus, are not described in great detail in this paper.
However, it is important to note that when configuring vSphere to access an EVA array, HP highly recommends creating a
redundant SAN environment by leveraging the following components:
• Redundant controllers on the EVA array
• Redundant Fibre Channel SANs
• At a minimum, dual HBAs in each ESX host