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
If you use Storage vMotion to migrate a virtual machine with I/O filters, a destination datastore must be
connected to hosts with compatible I/O filters installed.
You might need to migrate a virtual machine with I/O filters across different types of datastores, for
example between VMFS and Virtual Volumes. If you do so, make sure that the VM storage policy includes
rule sets for every type of datastore you are planning to use. For example, if you migrate your virtual
machine between the VMFS and Virtual Volumes datastores, create a mixed VM storage policy that
includes the following rules:
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Common Rules for the I/O filters
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Rule Set 1 for the VMFS datastore. Because Storage Policy Based Management does not offer an
explicit VMFS policy, the rule set must include tag-based rules for the VMFS datastore.
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Rule Set 2 for the Virtual Volumes datastore
When Storage vMotion migrates the virtual machine, the correct rule set that corresponds to the target
datastore is selected. The I/O filter rules remain unchanged.
If you do not specify rules for datastores and define only Common Rules for the I/O filters, the system
applies default storage policies for the datastores.
Handling I/O Filter Installation Failures
Typically, all ESXi hosts in a cluster have the same set of I/O filters installed. Occasionally, failures might
happen during installation.
If an I/O filter installation fails on a host, the system generates events that report the failure. In addition,
an alarm on the host shows the reason for the failure. Examples of failures include the following:
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The VIB URL is not accessible from the host.
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The VIB has an invalid format.
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The VIB requires the host to be in maintenance mode for an upgrade or uninstallation.
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The VIB requires the host to reboot after the installation or uninstallation.
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Attempts to put the host in maintenance mode fail because the virtual machine cannot be evacuated
from the host.
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The VIB requires manual installation or uninstallation.
vCenter Server can resolve some failures. You might have to intervene for other failures. For example,
you might need to edit the VIB URL, manually evacuate or power off virtual machines, or manually install
or uninstall VIBs.
Install I/O Filters on a Single ESXi Host
For troubleshooting purposes, you can download an ESXi component of the I/O filter, packaged as a VIB
file, and install it on the ESXi host. Use the esxcli command to install the VIB file.
vSphere Storage
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