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
Option Description
Override Link-local address for IPv6 Override the link-local IP address by configuring a static IP address.
Static IPv6 addresses a Click Add to add a new IPv6 address.
b Enter the IPv6 address and subnet prefix length, and click OK.
7 In the DNS settings section, provide IP addresses for a preferred DNS server and an alternate DNS
server.
You must provide both values.
Configure Dependent Hardware iSCSI Adapters
A dependent hardware iSCSI adapter is a third-party adapter that depends on VMware networking, and
iSCSI configuration and management interfaces provided by VMware.
An example of a dependent iSCSI adapter is a Broadcom 5709 NIC. When installed on a host, it presents
its two components, a standard network adapter and an iSCSI engine, to the same port. The iSCSI
engine appears on the list of storage adapters as an iSCSI adapter (vmhba).
The iSCSI adapter is enabled by default. To make it functional, you must connect it, through a virtual
VMkernel adapter (vmk), to a physical network adapter (vmnic) associated with it. You can then configure
the iSCSI adapter.
After you configure the dependent hardware iSCSI adapter, the discovery and authentication data is
passed through the network connection. The iSCSI traffic goes through the iSCSI engine, bypassing the
network.
The entire setup and configuration process for the dependent hardware iSCSI adapters involves several
steps.
Step Description
View Dependent Hardware iSCSI
Adapters
View a dependent hardware iSCSI adapter to verify that it is correctly loaded.
Modify General Properties for iSCSI
or iSER Adapters
If needed, change the default iSCSI name and alias assigned to your adapter.
Determine Association Between
iSCSI and Network Adapters
You must create network connections to bind dependent iSCSI and physical network
adapters. To create the connections correctly, determine the name of the physical NIC with
which the dependent hardware iSCSI adapter is associated.
Configure Port Binding for iSCSI or
iSER
Configure connections for the traffic between the iSCSI component and the physical network
adapters. The process of configuring these connections is called port binding.
Configure Dynamic or Static
Discovery for iSCSI and iSER
Set up dynamic discovery. With dynamic discovery, each time the initiator contacts a
specified iSCSI storage system, it sends the SendTargets request to the system. The iSCSI
system responds by supplying a list of available targets to the initiator. In addition to the
dynamic discovery method, you can use static discovery and manually enter information for
the targets.
Set Up CHAP for iSCSI or iSER
Adapter
If your iSCSI environment uses the Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP),
configure it for your adapter.
vSphere Storage
VMware, Inc. 80