6.5.1
Table Of Contents
- vSphere Storage
- Contents
- About vSphere Storage
- Updated Information
- 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 Requirements
- ESXi iSCSI SAN Restrictions
- Setting LUN Allocations for iSCSI
- Network Configuration and Authentication
- Set Up Independent Hardware iSCSI Adapters
- About Dependent Hardware iSCSI Adapters
- About the Software iSCSI Adapter
- Modify General Properties for iSCSI Adapters
- Setting Up iSCSI Network
- 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
- Edit Configuration File Parameters
- 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
- 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
- Raw Device Mapping
- Software-Defined Storage and Storage Policy Based Management
- About Storage Policy Based Management
- Virtual Machine Storage Policies
- Working with Virtual Machine Storage Policies
- Populating the VM Storage Policies Interface
- Default Storage Policies
- Creating and Managing VM Storage Policies
- Storage Policies and Virtual Machines
- Assign Storage Policies to Virtual Machines
- Change Storage Policy Assignment for Virtual Machine Files and Disks
- Monitor Storage Compliance for Virtual Machines
- Check Compliance for a VM Storage Policy
- Find Compatible Storage Resource for Noncompliant Virtual Machine
- Reapply Virtual Machine Storage Policy
- 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
- 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
3 After the successful connection, the iSCSI boot firmware writes the networking and iSCSI boot
parameters in to the iBFT. The firmware stores the table in the system memory.
Note The system uses this table to configure its own iSCSI connection and networking and to start
up.
4 The BIOS boots the boot device.
5 The VMkernel starts loading and takes over the boot operation.
6 Using the boot parameters from the iBFT, the VMkernel connects to the iSCSI target.
7 After the iSCSI connection is established, the system boots.
iBFT iSCSI Boot Considerations
When you boot the ESXi host from iSCSI using iBFT-enabled network adapters, certain considerations
apply.
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Update your NIC's boot code and iBFT firmware using vendor supplied tools before trying to install
and boot VMware ESXi. Consult vendor documentation and VMware HCL for supported boot code
and iBFT firmware versions for VMware ESXi iBFT boot.
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The iBFT iSCSI boot does not support failover for the iBFT-enabled network adapters.
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After you set up your host to boot from iBFT iSCSI, the following restrictions apply:
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You cannot disable the software iSCSI adapter. If the iBFT configuration is present in the BIOS,
the host re-enables the software iSCSI adapter during each reboot.
Note If you do not use the iBFT-enabled network adapter for the iSCSI boot and do not want the
software iSCSI adapter to be always enabled, remove the iBFT configuration from the network
adapter.
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You cannot remove the iBFT iSCSI boot target using the vSphere Web Client. The target appears
on the list of adapter static targets.
Configuring iBFT Boot from SAN
You can boot from the iSCSI SAN using the software iSCSI adapter or a dependent hardware iSCSI
adapter and a network adapter. The network adapter must support iBFT.
When you set up your host to boot with iBFT, you perform a number of tasks.
1 Configure iSCSI Boot Parameters
To begin an iSCSI boot process, a network adapter on your host must have a specially configured
iSCSI boot firmware. When you configure the firmware, you specify the networking and iSCSI
parameters and enable the adapter for the iSCSI boot.
2 Change Boot Sequence in BIOS
When setting up your host to boot from iBFT iSCSI, change the boot sequence to force your host to
boot in an appropriate order.
vSphere Storage
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