6.5.1

The claim rules are numbered. For each physical path, the host runs through the claim rules starting with
the lowest number first. The attributes of the physical path are compared to the path specification in the
claim rule. If there is a match, the host assigns the MPP specified in the claim rule to manage the physical
path. This continues until all physical paths are claimed by corresponding MPPs, either third-party
multipathing plug-ins or the native multipathing plug-in (NMP).
For the paths managed by the NMP module, a second set of claim rules is applied. These rules
determine which Storage Array Type Plug-In (SATP) should be used to manage the paths for a specific
array type, and which Path Selection Plug-In (PSP) is to be used for each storage device.
Use the vSphere Web Client to view which SATP and PSP the host is using for a specific storage device
and the status of all available paths for this storage device. If needed, you can change the default
VMware PSP using the client. To change the default SATP, you need to modify claim rules using the
vSphere CLI.
You can find some information about modifying claim rules in Managing Storage Paths and Multipathing
Plug-Ins.
For more information about the commands available to manage PSA, see Getting Started with vSphere
Command-Line Interfaces.
For a complete list of storage arrays and corresponding SATPs and PSPs, see the SAN Array Model
Reference section of the vSphere Compatibility Guide.
Viewing the Paths Information
You can review the storage array type policy (SATP) and path selection policy (PSP) that the ESXi host
uses for a specific storage device. You can also display the status of all available paths for this storage
device.
You can access the path information from both the Datastores and Devices views. For datastores, you
review the paths that connect to the device the datastore is deployed on.
The path information includes the SATP assigned to manage the device, the PSP, a list of paths, and the
status of each path. The following path status information can appear:
Active Paths available for issuing I/O to a LUN. A single or multiple working paths,
currently used for transferring data, are marked as Active (I/O).
Standby If active paths fail, the path can quickly become operational and can be
used for I/O.
Disabled The path is disabled and no data can be transferred.
Dead The software cannot connect to the disk through this path.
If you are using the Fixed path policy, you can see which path is the preferred path. The preferred path is
marked with an asterisk (*) in the Preferred column.
For each path you can also display the path's name. The name includes parameters that describe the
path: adapter ID, target ID, and device ID. Usually, the path's name has the format similar to the following:
vSphere Storage
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