vSphere Storage - VMware vSphere 6

1 vSphere StorageUpdate 1 Modified 15 AUG 2020 VMware vSphere ESXi Server can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware website at: , Hillview Alto, CA 2009-2020 VMware , Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright and trademark StorageVMware, vSphere Storage13 Updated Information141 Introduction to Storage15 Storage Virtualization15 Types of Physical Storage16 Local Storage16 Networked Storage17 Target and Device Representations 21 Storage Device Characteristics21 Display Storage Devices for a Host22 Display Storage Devices for an Adapter23 Supported Storage Adapters23 Storage Adapter Characteristics23 View Storage Adapters Information24 Datastore Characteristics24 Display Datastore Information26 List Datastores for an Infrastructure Object27 How Virtual Machines Access Storage28 Comparing Types

2 Of Storage292 Overview of Using ESXi with a SAN30 ESXi and SAN Use Cases31 Specifics of Using SAN Storage with ESXi32 ESXi Hosts and Multiple Storage Arrays32 Making LUN Decisions32 Use the Predictive Scheme to Make LUN Decisions33 Use the Adaptive Scheme to Make LUN Decisions33 Choosing Virtual Machine Locations34 Layered Applications35 Array-Based (Third-Party) Solution35 File-Based (VMFS) Solution35 Third-Party Management Applications36 SAN Storage Backup Considerations36 Using Third-Party Backup Packages373 Using ESXi with Fibre Channel SAN39 VMware , Channel SAN Concepts39 Ports in Fibre Channel SAN40 Fibre Channel Storage Array Types40 Using Zoning with Fibre Channel SANs41 How Virtual Machines Access Data on a Fibre Channel SAN414 Configuring Fibre Channel Storage43 ESXi Fibre Channel SAN Requirements43 ESXi Fibre Channel SAN Restrictions44 Setting LUN Allocations44 Setting Fibre Channel HBAs44 Installation and Setup Steps45N-Port ID Virtualization45 How NPIV-Based LUN Access Works45 Requirements for Using NPIV46 NPIV Capabilities and Limitations47 Assign WWNs to Virtual Machines47 Modify WWN

3 Assignments485 Configuring Fibre Channel over Ethernet50 Fibre Channel over Ethernet Adapters50 configuration Guidelines for Software FCoE51 Set Up Networking for Software FCoE52 Add Software FCoE Adapters526 Booting ESXi from Fibre Channel SAN54 Boot from SAN Benefits54 Boot from Fibre Channel SAN Requirements and Considerations55 Getting Ready for Boot from SAN55 Configure SAN Components and Storage System56 Configure Storage Adapter to Boot from SAN57 Set Up Your System to Boot from Installation Media57 Configure Emulex HBA to Boot from SAN57 Enable the BootBIOS Prompt58 Enable the BIOS58 Configure QLogic HBA to Boot from SAN597 Booting ESXi with Software FCoE61 Requirements and Considerations for Software FCoE Boot61 Best Practices for Software FCoE Boot62 Set Up Software FCoE Boot62vSphere StorageVMware.

4 Software FCoE Boot Parameters63 Install and Boot ESXi from Software FCoE LUN63 Troubleshooting Installation and Boot from Software FCoE648 Best Practices for Fibre Channel Storage65 Preventing Fibre Channel SAN Problems65 Disable Automatic Host Registration66 Optimizing Fibre Channel SAN Storage Performance66 Storage Array Performance67 Server Performance with Fibre Channel679 Using ESXi with iscsi SAN69iSCSI SAN Concepts69 Ports in the iscsi SAN70iSCSI Naming Conventions70iSCSI Initiators71 Establishing iscsi Connections72iSCSI Storage System Types73 Discovery, Authentication.

5 And Access Control 73 Error Correction74 How Virtual Machines Access Data on an iscsi SAN7510 Configuring iscsi Adapters and Storage77 ESXi iscsi SAN Requirements78 ESXi iscsi SAN Restrictions78 Setting LUN Allocations for iSCSI78 Network configuration and Authentication79 Set Up Independent Hardware iscsi Adapters79 View Independent Hardware iscsi Adapters80 Modify General Properties for iscsi Adapters81 Edit Network Settings for Hardware iSCSI81 Set Up Dynamic or Static Discovery for iSCSI82 About Dependent Hardware iscsi Adapters83 Dependent Hardware iscsi Considerations83 Configure Dependent Hardware iscsi Adapters84 About the Software iscsi Adapter92 Configure the Software iscsi Adapter92 Disable Software iscsi Adapter99 Modify General Properties for iscsi Adapters100 Setting Up iscsi Network100 Guidelines for Using iscsi Port Binding in ESXi103vSphere StorageVMware.

6 Network Connections for iSCSI103 Managing iscsi Network108iSCSI Network Troubleshooting 108 Using Jumbo Frames with iSCSI109 Enable Jumbo Frames for Software and Dependent Hardware iSCSI109 Enable Jumbo Frames for Independent Hardware iSCSI110 Configuring Discovery Addresses for iscsi Adapters110 Set Up Dynamic or Static Discovery for iSCSI111 Remove Dynamic or Static iscsi Targets111 Configuring CHAP Parameters for iscsi Adapters112 Choosing CHAP Authentication Method112 Set Up CHAP for iscsi Adapter113 Set Up CHAP for Target114 Disable CHAP115 Configuring Advanced Parameters for iSCSI116 Configure Advanced Parameters for iSCSI117iSCSI Session Management118 Review iscsi Sessions118 Add iscsi Sessions119 Remove iscsi Sessions12011 Booting from iscsi SAN121 General Boot from iscsi SAN Recommendations121 Prepare the iscsi SAN122 Configure Independent Hardware iscsi Adapter for SAN Boot123 Configure iscsi Boot Settings123iBFT iscsi Boot Overview124iBFT iscsi Boot Considerations125 Configuring iBFT Boot from SAN125 Networking Best Practices128 Change iBFT iscsi Boot Settings128 Troubleshooting iBFT iscsi Boot12912 Best

7 Practices for iscsi Storage131 Preventing iscsi SAN Problems131 Optimizing iscsi SAN Storage Performance132 Storage System Performance132 Server Performance with iSCSI133 Network Performance133 Checking Ethernet Switch Statistics136vSphere StorageVMware, Storage Devices137 Storage Device Characteristics137 Display Storage Devices for a Host138 Display Storage Devices for an Adapter139 Understanding Storage Device Naming139 Rename Storage Devices141 Storage Refresh and Rescan Operations141 Perform Storage Rescan142 Perform Adapter Rescan142 Change the Number of Scanned Storage Devices142 Identifying Device Connectivity Problems143 Detecting PDL Conditions144 Performing Planned Storage Device Removal145 Recovering From PDL Conditions146 Handling Transient APD Conditions147 Check the Connection Status of a

8 Storage Device149 Device Connectivity Problems and High Availability149 Enable or Disable the Locator LED on Storage Devices15014 Working with Flash Devices151 Using Flash Devices with vSphere151 Identifying Flash Virtual Disks152 Marking Storage Devices152 Mark Storage Devices as Flash 153 Mark Storage Devices as Local153 Monitor Flash Devices154 Best Practices for Flash Devices154 Estimate Lifetime of Flash Devices155 About Virtual Flash Resource156 Considerations for Virtual Flash Resource 156 Set Up Virtual Flash Resource156 Remove Virtual Flash Resource157 Virtual Flash Advanced Settings158 Configuring Host Swap Cache158 Configure Host Cache with VMFS Datastore158 Configure Host Swap Cache with Virtual Flash Resource15915 About VMware vSphere Flash Read Cache160 DRS Support for Flash Read Cache161vSphere High Availability Support for Flash Read Cache161 Configure Flash Read Cache for a Virtual Machine161vSphere StorageVMware.

9 Virtual Machines with Flash Read Cache16216 Working with Datastores164 Understanding VMFS Datastores165 Characteristics of VMFS5 Datastores166 VMFS Datastores and Storage Disk Formats166 VMFS Datastores as Repositories167 Sharing a VMFS Datastore Across Hosts167 VMFS Metadata Updates168 VMFS Locking Mechanisms169 Understanding Network File System Datastores173 NFS Storage Guidelines and Requirements174 NFS Protocols and ESXi175 Firewall Configurations for NFS Storage177 Using Layer 3 Routed Connections to Access NFS Storage179 Set Up NFS Storage Environment179 Using Kerberos Credentials for NFS Datastores183 Create a VMFS Datastore184 Create an NFS Datastore185 Create a Virtual Datastore185 Managing Duplicate VMFS Datastores186 Keep Existing Datastore Signature187 Resignature a VMFS Datastore Copy187 Upgrading VMFS Datastores188 Upgrade a Datastore to VMFS5189 Increasing VMFS Datastore Capacity190 Increase VMFS Datastore Capacity190 Administrative Operations for Datastores191 Change Datastore Name192 Unmount Datastores192 Mount Datastores193 Remove VMFS Datastores194 Use Datastore Browser195 Turn Off

10 Storage Filters199 Set Up Dynamic Disk Mirroring201 Collecting Diagnostic Information for ESXi Hosts on a Storage Device202 Set Up a Device Partition as Core Dump Location202 Set Up a File as Core Dump Location204 Checking Metadata Consistency with VOMA206 Configuring