vSphere Storage - VMware vSphere 6

1 vSphere StorageModified 09 NOV 2018 VMware vSphere ESXi Server StorageVMware, Inc. 2 You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware website at: you have comments about this documentation, submit your feedback 2009 2018 VMware , Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright and trademark , Hillview Alto, CA vSphere Storage 8 Updated Information 9 1 Introduction to Storage 10 Traditional Storage Virtualization Models 10 Software-Defined Storage Models 12vSphere Storage APIs 12 2 Getting Started with a Traditional Storage Model 14 Types of Physical Storage 14 Supported Storage Adapters 25 Datastore Characteristics 26 Using Persistent Memory 29 3 Overview of Using ESXi with a SAN 33 ESXi and SAN Use Cases 34 Specifics of Using SAN Storage with ESXi 34 ESXi Hosts and Multiple Storage Arrays 35 Making LUN Decisions 35 Selecting Virtual Machine Locations 37 Third-Party Management Applications 37 SAN Storage Backup Considerations 38 4 Using ESXi with

2 Fibre Channel SAN 40 Fibre Channel SAN Concepts 40 Using Zoning with Fibre Channel SANs 42 How Virtual Machines Access Data on a Fibre Channel SAN 42 5 Configuring Fibre Channel Storage 44 ESXi Fibre Channel SAN Requirements 44 Installation and Setup Steps 46N-Port ID Virtualization 46 6 Configuring Fibre Channel over Ethernet 50 Fibre Channel over Ethernet Adapters 50 Configuration Guidelines for Software FCoE 51 Set Up Networking for Software FCoE 52 VMware , Inc. 3 Add Software FCoE Adapters 53 7 Booting ESXi from Fibre Channel SAN 54 Boot from SAN Benefits 54 Requirements and Considerations when Booting from Fibre Channel SAN 55 Getting Ready for Boot from SAN 55 Configure Emulex HBA to Boot from SAN 57 Configure QLogic HBA to Boot from SAN 58 8 Booting ESXi with Software FCoE 60 Requirements and Considerations for Software FCoE Boot 60 Set Up Software FCoE Boot 61 Troubleshooting Boot from Software FCoE for an ESXi Host 63 9 Best Practices for Fibre Channel Storage 64 Preventing Fibre Channel SAN Problems 64 Disable Automatic Host Registration 65 Optimizing Fibre Channel SAN Storage Performance 65 10

3 Using ESXi with iSCSI SAN 68 About iSCSI SAN 68 11 Configuring iSCSI Adapters and Storage 76 ESXi iSCSI SAN Recommendations and Restrictions 77 Configuring iSCSI Parameters for Adapters 77 Set Up Independent Hardware iSCSI Adapters 78 Configure Dependent Hardware iSCSI Adapters 81 Configure the Software iSCSI Adapter 83 Configure iSER Adapters 85 Modify General Properties for iSCSI or iSER Adapters 86 Setting Up Network for iSCSI and iSER 87 Using Jumbo Frames with iSCSI 99 Configuring Discovery Addresses for iSCSI Adapters 100 Configuring CHAP Parameters for iSCSI Adapters 102 Configuring Advanced Parameters for iSCSI 106iSCSI Session Management 108 12 Booting from iSCSI SAN 111 General Recommendations for Boot from iSCSI SAN 111 Prepare the iSCSI SAN 112 Configure Independent Hardware iSCSI Adapter for SAN Boot 113iBFT iSCSI Boot Overview 114vSphere StorageVMware, Inc.

4 4 13 Best Practices for iSCSI Storage 120 Preventing iSCSI SAN Problems 120 Optimizing iSCSI SAN Storage Performance 121 Checking Ethernet Switch Statistics 125 14 Managing Storage Devices 126 Storage Device Characteristics 126 Understanding Storage Device Naming 131 Storage Rescan Operations 133 Identifying Device Connectivity Problems 135 Enable or Disable the Locator LED on Storage Devices 140 Erase Storage Devices 141 15 Working with Flash Devices 142 Using Flash Devices with ESXi 142 Marking Storage Devices 143 Monitor Flash Devices 145 Best Practices for Flash Devices 145 About Virtual Flash Resource 146 Configuring Host Swap Cache 149 16 About VMware vSphere Flash Read Cache 151 DRS Support for Flash Read Cache 152vSphere High Availability Support for Flash Read Cache 152 Configure Flash Read Cache for a Virtual Machine 152 Migrate Virtual Machines with Flash Read Cache 153 17 Working with Datastores 155 Types of Datastores 155 Understanding VMFS Datastores 156 Upgrading VMFS Datastores 165 Understanding Network File System Datastores 167 Creating Datastores 178 Managing Duplicate VMFS Datastores 182 Increase VMFS Datastore Capacity 183 Administrative Operations for Datastores 185 Set Up Dynamic Disk Mirroring 193 Collecting Diagnostic Information for ESXi Hosts on a Storage Device

5 194 Checking Metadata Consistency with VOMA 198 Configuring VMFS Pointer Block Cache 200 vSphere StorageVMware, Inc. 518 Understanding Multipathing and Failover 203 Failovers with Fibre Channel 203 Host-Based Failover with iSCSI 204 Array-Based Failover with iSCSI 206 Path Failover and Virtual Machines 207 Pluggable Storage Architecture and Path Management 208 Viewing and Managing Paths 218 Using Claim Rules 221 Scheduling Queues for Virtual Machine I/Os 231 19 Raw Device Mapping 233 About Raw Device Mapping 233 Raw Device Mapping Characteristics 237 Create Virtual Machines with RDMs 239 Manage Paths for a Mapped LUN 240 20 Storage Policy Based Management 241 Virtual Machine Storage Policies 242 Workflow for Virtual Machine Storage Policies 242 Populating the

6 VM Storage Policies Interface 243 About Rules and Rule Sets 247 Creating and Managing VM Storage Policies 249 About Storage Policy Components 258 Storage Policies and Virtual Machines 261 Default Storage Policies 267 21 Using Storage Providers 269 About Storage Providers 269 Storage Providers and Data Representation 270 Storage Provider Requirements and Considerations 271 Register Storage Providers 271 View Storage Provider Information 272 Manage Storage Providers 273 22 Working with Virtual Volumes 274 About Virtual Volumes 274 Virtual Volumes Concepts 275 Virtual Volumes and Storage Protocols 281 Virtual Volumes Architecture 282 Virtual Volumes and VMware Certificate Authority 284 Snapshots and Virtual Volumes 285 Before You Enable Virtual Volumes 285vSphere StorageVMware, Inc.

7 6 Configure Virtual Volumes 287 Provision Virtual Machines on Virtual Volumes Datastores 290 Virtual Volumes and Replication 291 Best Practices for Working with vSphere Virtual Volumes 296 Troubleshooting Virtual Volumes 300 23 Filtering Virtual Machine I/O 304 About I/O Filters 304 Using Flash Storage Devices with Cache I/O Filters 307 System Requirements for I/O Filters 308 Configure I/O Filters in the vSphere Environment 309 Enable I/O Filter Data Services on Virtual Disks 311 Managing I/O Filters 312I/O Filter Guidelines and Best Practices 314 Handling I/O Filter Installation Failures 315 24 Storage Hardware Acceleration 317 Hardware Acceleration Benefits 317 Hardware Acceleration Requirements 318 Hardware Acceleration Support Status 318 Hardware Acceleration for Block Storage Devices 318 Hardware Acceleration on NAS Devices 325 Hardware Acceleration Considerations 327 25 Thin Provisioning and Space Reclamation 329 Virtual Disk Thin Provisioning 329 ESXi and Array Thin Provisioning 334 Storage Space Reclamation 336 26 Using vmkfstools 344vmkfstools Command Syntax 344 The vmkfstools Command Options 345vSphere StorageVMware, Inc.

8 7 About vSphere StoragevSphere Storage describes virtualized and software-defined Storage technologies that VMware ESXi and VMware vCenter Server offer, and explains how to configure and use these AudienceThis information is for experienced system administrators who are familiar with the virtual machine andstorage virtualization technologies, data center operations, and SAN Storage Client and vSphere Web ClientThe instructions in this guide are specific primarily to the vSphere Client (an HTML5-based GUI). Mostinstructions also apply to the vSphere Web Client (a Flex-based GUI).For the workflows that significantly differ between the two clients, vSphere Storage provides duplicateprocedures.

9 The procedures indicate when they are intended exclusively for the vSphere Client or thevSphere Web In vSphere , most of the vSphere Web Client functionality is implemented in the vSphere an up-to-date list of the unsupported functionality, see Functionality Updates for the vSphere , Inc. 8 Updated InformationThis vSphere Storage is updated with each release of the product or when table provides the update history of the vSphere NOV 2018 Minor AUG 2018 Set Up Dynamic Disk Mirroring has been updated with additional JUL 2018 Minor JUN 2018 Create a VMFS Datastore indicates that the required minimum size for a VMFS6 datastore is 2 MAY 2018 Checking Metadata Consistency with VOMA has been MAY 2018nUse the ESXCLI Command to Change Space Reclamation Parameters has been updated with Reclamation Requests from Guest Operating Systems now reflects that for VMs with snapshots.

10 Space reclamation works only when the VM is powered Volumes now includes a statement about MSCS support with Virtual Datastore Name now states that a datastore managed by vCenter Server cannot be renamed whenthe host is directly accessed from the VMware Host VMFS Datastore Capacity has been updated to clarify that the VMs can continue to run while youincrease the datastore APR 2018 Initial , Inc. 9 Introduction to Storage1vSphere supports various Storage options and functionalities in traditional and software-defined storageenvironments. A high-level overview of vSphere Storage elements and aspects helps you plan a properstorage strategy for your virtual data chapter includes the following topics:nTraditional Storage Virtualization ModelsnSoftware-Defined Storage ModelsnvSphere Storage APIsTraditional Storage Virtualization ModelsGenerally, Storage virtualization refers to a logical abstraction of physical Storage resources andcapacities from virtual machines and their applications.