6.7

2 Click the Configure tab.
3 Under Storage, click Storage Devices.
4 From the list of storage devices, select one or several remote devices and click the Mark as Local
icon.
5 Click Yes to save your changes.
Monitor Flash Devices
You can monitor certain critical flash device parameters, including Media Wearout Indicator,
Temperature, and Reallocated Sector Count, from an ESXi host.
Use the esxcli command to monitor flash devices.
Prerequisites
Install vCLI or deploy the vSphere Management Assistant (vMA) virtual machine. See Getting Started with
vSphere Command-Line Interfaces. For troubleshooting, run esxcli commands in the ESXi Shell.
Procedure
u
Display the flash device statistics by running the following command:
esxcli storage core device smart get -d=flash device_ID
Best Practices for Flash Devices
Follow these best practices when you use flash devices in vSphere environment.
n
Make sure to use the latest firmware with flash devices. Frequently check with your storage vendors
for any updates.
n
Carefully monitor how intensively you use the flash device and calculate its estimated lifetime. The
lifetime expectancy depends on how actively you continue to use the flash device.
Estimate Lifetime of Flash Devices
When working with flash devices, monitor how actively you use them and calculate their estimated
lifetime.
Typically, storage vendors provide reliable lifetime estimates for a flash device under ideal conditions. For
example, a vendor might guarantee a lifetime of 5 years under the condition of 20 GB writes per day.
However, the more realistic life expectancy of the device depends on how many writes per day your ESXi
host actually generates. Follow these steps to calculate the lifetime of the flash device.
Prerequisites
Note the number of days passed since the last reboot of your ESXi host. For example, ten days.
vSphere Storage
VMware, Inc. 144