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
For example, the following SQL server has six virtual volumes:
n
Config-VVol
n
Data-VVol for the operating system
n
Data-VVol for the database
n
Data-VVol for the log
n
Swap-VVol when powered on
n
Snapshot-VVol
By using different virtual volumes for different VM components, you can apply and manipulate storage
policies at the finest granularity level. For example, a virtual volume that contains a virtual disk can have a
richer set of services than the virtual volume for the VM boot disk. Similarly, a snapshot virtual volume can
use a different storage tier compared to a current virtual volume.
Virtual Volumes and Storage Providers
A Virtual Volumes storage provider, also called a VASA provider, is a software component that acts as a
storage awareness service for vSphere. The provider mediates out-of-band communication between
vCenter Server and ESXi hosts on one side and a storage system on the other.
The storage provider is implemented through VMware APIs for Storage Awareness (VASA) and is used to
manage all aspects of Virtual Volumes storage. The storage provider integrates with the Storage
Monitoring Service (SMS), shipped with vSphere, to communicate with vCenter Server and ESXi hosts.
The storage provider delivers information from the underlying storage container. The storage container
capabilities appear in vCenter Server and the vSphere Web Client. Then, in turn, the storage provider
communicates virtual machine storage requirements, which you can define in the form of a storage policy,
to the storage layer. This integration process ensures that a virtual volume created in the storage layer
meets the requirements outlined in the policy.
Typically, vendors are responsible for supplying storage providers that can integrate with vSphere and
provide support to Virtual Volumes. Every storage provider must be certified by VMware and properly
deployed. For information about deploying and upgrading the Virtual Volumes storage provider to a
version compatible with current ESXi release, contact your storage vendor.
After you deploy the storage provider, you must register it in vCenter Server, so that it can communicate
with vSphere through the SMS.
Storage Containers
Unlike traditional LUN and NFS-based storage, the Virtual Volumes functionality does not require
preconfigured volumes on a storage side. Instead, Virtual Volumes uses a storage container. It is a pool of
raw storage capacity or an aggregation of storage capabilities that a storage system can provide to virtual
volumes.
vSphere Storage
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