6.7
Table Of Contents
- vSphere Storage
- Contents
- About vSphere Storage
- Introduction to Storage
- Getting Started with a Traditional Storage Model
- Overview of Using ESXi with a SAN
- Using ESXi with Fibre Channel SAN
- Configuring Fibre Channel Storage
- Configuring Fibre Channel over Ethernet
- Booting ESXi from Fibre Channel SAN
- Booting ESXi with Software FCoE
- Best Practices for Fibre Channel Storage
- Using ESXi with iSCSI SAN
- Configuring iSCSI Adapters and Storage
- ESXi iSCSI SAN Recommendations and Restrictions
- Configuring iSCSI Parameters for Adapters
- Set Up Independent Hardware iSCSI Adapters
- Configure Dependent Hardware iSCSI Adapters
- Configure the Software iSCSI Adapter
- Configure iSER Adapters
- Modify General Properties for iSCSI or iSER Adapters
- Setting Up Network for iSCSI and iSER
- Using Jumbo Frames with iSCSI
- Configuring Discovery Addresses for iSCSI Adapters
- Configuring CHAP Parameters for iSCSI Adapters
- Configuring Advanced Parameters for iSCSI
- iSCSI Session Management
- Booting from iSCSI SAN
- Best Practices for iSCSI Storage
- Managing Storage Devices
- Storage Device Characteristics
- Understanding Storage Device Naming
- Storage Rescan Operations
- Identifying Device Connectivity Problems
- Enable or Disable the Locator LED on Storage Devices
- Erase Storage Devices
- Working with Flash Devices
- About VMware vSphere Flash Read Cache
- Working with Datastores
- Types of Datastores
- Understanding VMFS Datastores
- Upgrading VMFS Datastores
- Understanding Network File System Datastores
- Creating Datastores
- Managing Duplicate VMFS Datastores
- Increasing VMFS Datastore Capacity
- Administrative Operations for Datastores
- Set Up Dynamic Disk Mirroring
- Collecting Diagnostic Information for ESXi Hosts on a Storage Device
- Checking Metadata Consistency with VOMA
- Configuring VMFS Pointer Block Cache
- Understanding Multipathing and Failover
- Failovers with Fibre Channel
- Host-Based Failover with iSCSI
- Array-Based Failover with iSCSI
- Path Failover and Virtual Machines
- Pluggable Storage Architecture and Path Management
- Viewing and Managing Paths
- Using Claim Rules
- Scheduling Queues for Virtual Machine I/Os
- Raw Device Mapping
- Storage Policy Based Management
- Virtual Machine Storage Policies
- Workflow for Virtual Machine Storage Policies
- Populating the VM Storage Policies Interface
- About Rules and Rule Sets
- Creating and Managing VM Storage Policies
- About Storage Policy Components
- Storage Policies and Virtual Machines
- Default Storage Policies
- Using Storage Providers
- Working with Virtual Volumes
- About Virtual Volumes
- Virtual Volumes Concepts
- Virtual Volumes and Storage Protocols
- Virtual Volumes Architecture
- Virtual Volumes and VMware Certificate Authority
- Snapshots and Virtual Volumes
- Before You Enable Virtual Volumes
- Configure Virtual Volumes
- Provision Virtual Machines on Virtual Volumes Datastores
- Virtual Volumes and Replication
- Best Practices for Working with vSphere Virtual Volumes
- Troubleshooting Virtual Volumes
- Filtering Virtual Machine I/O
- Storage Hardware Acceleration
- Hardware Acceleration Benefits
- Hardware Acceleration Requirements
- Hardware Acceleration Support Status
- Hardware Acceleration for Block Storage Devices
- Hardware Acceleration on NAS Devices
- Hardware Acceleration Considerations
- Thin Provisioning and Space Reclamation
- Using vmkfstools
- vmkfstools Command Syntax
- The vmkfstools Command Options
- -v Suboption
- File System Options
- Virtual Disk Options
- Supported Disk Formats
- Creating a Virtual Disk
- Initializing a Virtual Disk
- Inflating a Thin Virtual Disk
- Converting a Zeroedthick Virtual Disk to an Eagerzeroedthick Disk
- Removing Zeroed Blocks
- Deleting a Virtual Disk
- Renaming a Virtual Disk
- Cloning or Converting a Virtual Disk or RDM
- Extending a Virtual Disk
- Upgrading Virtual Disks
- Creating a Virtual Compatibility Mode Raw Device Mapping
- Creating a Physical Compatibility Mode Raw Device Mapping
- Listing Attributes of an RDM
- Displaying Virtual Disk Geometry
- Checking and Repairing Virtual Disks
- Checking Disk Chain for Consistency
- Storage Device Options
7 If configuring bidirectional CHAP, specify incoming CHAP credentials.
Make sure to use different secrets for the outgoing and incoming CHAP.
8 Click OK.
9 Rescan the iSCSI adapter.
If you change the CHAP parameters, they are used for new iSCSI sessions. For existing sessions, new
settings are not used until you log out and login again.
Configuring Advanced Parameters for iSCSI
You might need to configure additional parameters for your iSCSI initiators. For example, some iSCSI
storage systems require ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) redirection to move iSCSI traffic dynamically
from one port to another. In this case, you must activate the ARP redirection on your host.
The following table lists advanced iSCSI parameters that you can configure using the vSphere Client. In
addition, you can use the vSphere CLI commands to configure some of the advanced parameters. For
information, see the Getting Started with vSphere Command-Line Interfaces documentation.
Depending on the type of your adapters, certain parameters might not be available.
Important Do not change the advanced iSCSI settings unless VMware support or Storage Vendors
direct you to change them.
Table 11‑3. Additional Parameters for iSCSI Initiators
Advanced Parameter Description
Header Digest Increases data integrity. When the header digest parameter is enabled, the system performs a
checksum over each header part of the iSCSI Protocol Data Unit (PDU). The system verifies the
data using the CRC32C algorithm.
Data Digest Increases data integrity. When the data digest parameter is enabled, the system performs a
checksum over each PDU data part. The system verifies the data using the CRC32C algorithm.
Note Systems that use the Intel Nehalem processors offload the iSCSI digest calculations for
software iSCSI. This offload helps to reduce the impact on performance.
ErrorRecoveryLevel iSCSI Error Recovery Level (ERL) value that the iSCSI initiator on the host negotiates during a
login.
LoginRetryMax Maximum number of times the ESXi iSCSI initiator attempts to log into a target before ending the
attempts.
MaxOutstandingR2T Defines the R2T (Ready to Transfer) PDUs that can be in transition before an acknowledge PDU
is received.
FirstBurstLength Specifies the maximum amount of unsolicited data an iSCSI initiator can send to the target
during the execution of a single SCSI command, in bytes.
MaxBurstLength Maximum SCSI data payload in a Data-In or a solicited Data-Out iSCSI sequence, in bytes.
MaxRecvDataSegLength Maximum data segment length, in bytes, that can be received in an iSCSI PDU.
MaxCommands Maximum SCSI commands that can be queued on the iSCSI adapter.
vSphere Storage
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