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
n
Protocol Endpoints
Although storage systems manage all aspects of virtual volumes, ESXi hosts have no direct access
to virtual volumes on the storage side. Instead, ESXi hosts use a logical I/O proxy, called the
protocol endpoint, to communicate with virtual volumes and virtual disk files that virtual volumes
encapsulate. ESXi uses protocol endpoints to establish a data path on demand from virtual
machines to their respective virtual volumes.
n
Binding and Unbinding Virtual Volumes to Protocol Endpoints
At the time of creation, a virtual volume is a passive entity and is not immediately ready for I/O. To
access the virtual volume, ESXi or vCenter Server send a bind request.
n
Virtual Volumes Datastores
A Virtual Volumes (VVol) datastore represents a storage container in vCenter Server and the
vSphere Client.
n
Virtual Volumes and VM Storage Policies
A virtual machine that runs on a Virtual Volumes datastore requires a VM storage policy.
Virtual Volumes
Virtual volumes are encapsulations of virtual machine files, virtual disks, and their derivatives.
Virtual volumes are stored natively inside a storage system that is connected to your ESXi hosts through
Ethernet or SAN. They are exported as objects by a compliant storage system and are managed entirely
by hardware on the storage side. Typically, a unique GUID identifies a virtual volume. Virtual volumes are
not preprovisioned, but created automatically when you perform virtual machine management operations.
These operations include a VM creation, cloning, and snapshotting. ESXi and vCenter Server associate
one or more virtual volumes to a virtual machine.
The system creates the following types of virtual volumes for the core elements that make up the virtual
machine:
Data-VVol A data virtual volume that corresponds directly to each virtual disk .vmdk
file. As virtual disk files on traditional datastores, virtual volumes are
presented to virtual machines as SCSI disks. Data-VVols can be either
thick or thin-provisioned.
Config-VVol A configuration virtual volume, or a home directory, represents a small
directory that contains metadata files for a virtual machine. The files include
a .vmx file, descriptor files for virtual disks, log files, and so forth. The
configuration virtual volume is formatted with a file system. When ESXi
uses the SCSI protocol to connect to storage, configuration virtual volumes
are formatted with VMFS. With NFS protocol, configuration virtual volumes
are presented as an NFS directory. Typically, it is thin-provisioned.
Swap-VVol Created when a VM is first powered on. It is a virtual volume to hold copies
of VM memory pages that cannot be retained in memory. Its size is
determined by the VM’s memory size. It is thick-provisioned by default.
vSphere Storage
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