User guide

Technical white paper | HP Enterprise Virtual Array Storage and VMware vSphere 4.x and 5.x configuration best practices

or the following command on ESXi 5.x

esxcli storage nmp psp roundrobin deviceconfig set -t iops -I 1 -d naa.xxxxxxxxx

In an environment where you only have EVA Vdisks connected to vSphere 4.x/5.x hosts you can use the following script to

automatically set I/O path policy for each Vdisk to round robin:

For ESX 4.x:

for i in 'esxcli nmp device list | grep ^naa.6001' ; do esxcli nmp roundrobin

setconfig -t iops –I 1 -d $i; done

For ESXi 5.x:

for i in 'esxcli storage nmp device list | grep ^naa.6001' ; do esxcli storage nmp

psp roundrobin deviceconfig set -t iops –I 1 -d $i; done

Note that all the Vdisks must previously be configured to use the Round Robin Path Policy before running the scripts above.

Refer to Changing the PSP section above for instruction to change the PSP setting for the Vdisks.

For environments with multiple array models, merely change grep naa.6001 so that it matches the pattern to devices on

the desired arrays only.

Caveats for connecting to vSphere 4.1 and 5.x

vSphere 4.0 does not provide a method for globally configuring the path selection plug-in (PSP or PSM) based on a

particular array model. However, starting with vSphere 4.1, VMware introduced more granular SATP and PSP configuration

options that allow array specific SATP and PSP configurations.

As in vSphere 4, each SATP has a default PSP. However, vSphere 4.1/5.x also gives you the ability to configure a particular

PSP based on the storage array model. This is a significant improvement, allowing multiple arrays to use the same SATP

but, by default, utilize different PSPs, which provides a tremendous savings in configuration time.

As in vSphere 4, the default PSP for VMW_SATP_ALUA in vSphere 4.1/5.x is VMW_PSP_MRU. Configuring the recommended

PSP, VMW_PSP_RR, can be achieved in two different ways, depending on the deployment type:

• Same I/O path policy settings

If the vSphere 4.1/5.x cluster is connected to one or more ALUA-capable arrays using the same I/O path policy, you can

change the default PSP for the VMW_SATP_ALUA to VMW_PSP_RR with the same steps described in the section

Connecting to an active-active EVA array in vSphere 4.0, 4.1 and 5.x shown above.

• Different I/O path policy settings

If the vSphere 4.1/5.x cluster is connected to two or more ALUA capable arrays that each requires different I/O path policy

settings, you can leverage the new SATP and PSP configuration options in vSphere 4.1/5.x via the following command

line:

For ESX 4.1:

esxcli nmp satp addrule –s VMW_SATP_ALUA –P VMW_PSP_RR –o iops –O iops=1 –c

tpgs_on –V HP –M HSV300 –e "My custom EVA4400 rule"

For ESXi 5.x:

esxcli storage nmp satp rule add –s VMW_SATP_ALUA –P VMW_PSP_RR –o iops –O iops=1

–c tpgs_on –V HP –M HSV300 –e "My custom EVA4400 rule"

This single command line achieves the following:

– Create a new rule in the SATP rule table for the array specified with –vendor and –model

– Set the default SATP for this array to VMW_SATP_ALUA

– Set the default PSP to VMW_PSP_RR

– Set the round robin option to IOPS=1

Repeat this command line for each ALUA-compliant array model to be shared by your vSphere 4.1/5.x cluster.

With this single command line, you can achieve the same results as the two-stage configuration process required for

vSphere 4. Thus, regardless of the deployment type in vSphere 4.1/5.x, running this single addrule command is far more

efficient.