vSphere Storage Modified on 15 AUG 2020 VMware vSphere 7.0 VMware ESXi 7.0 vCenter Server 7.0 vSphere Storage You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware website at: https://docs.vmware.com/ VMware, Inc. 3401 Hillview Ave. Palo Alto, CA 94304 www.vmware.com © Copyright 2009-2020 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright and trademark information. VMware, Inc. 2 Contents About vSphere Storage 14 Updated Information 15 1 Introduction to Storage 16 Traditional Storage Virtualization Models 16 Software-Defined Storage Models 18 vSphere Storage APIs 19 2 Getting Started with a Traditional Storage Model 20 Types of Physical Storage 20 Local Storage 20 Networked Storage 21 Target and Device Representations 25 How Virtual Machines Access Storage 26 Storage Device Characteristics 27 Comparing Types of Storage 30 Supported Storage Adapters 31 View Storage Adapter Information 31 Datastore Characteristics 32 Display Datastore Information 34 Using Persistent Memory 35 Monitor PMem Datastore Statistics 37 3 Overview of Using ESXi with a SAN 39 ESXi and SAN Use Cases 40 Specifics of Using SAN Storage with ESXi 41 ESXi Hosts and Multiple Storage Arrays 41 Making LUN Decisions 41 Use the Predictive Scheme to Make LUN Decisions 42 Use the Adaptive Scheme to Make LUN Decisions 42 Selecting Virtual Machine Locations 43 Third-Party Management Applications 44 SAN Storage Backup Considerations 44 Using Third-Party Backup Packages 45 4 Using ESXi with Fibre Channel SAN 46 Fibre Channel SAN Concepts 46 VMware, Inc. 3 vSphere Storage Ports in Fibre Channel SAN 47 Fibre Channel Storage Array Types 47 Using Zoning with Fibre Channel SANs 48 How Virtual Machines Access Data on a Fibre Channel SAN 48 5 Configuring Fibre Channel Storage 50 ESXi Fibre Channel SAN Requirements 50 ESXi Fibre Channel SAN Restrictions 50 Setting LUN Allocations 51 Setting Fibre Channel HBAs 51 Installation and Setup Steps 52 N-Port ID Virtualization 52 How NPIV-Based LUN Access Works 52 Requirements for Using NPIV 53 NPIV Capabilities and Limitations 53 Configure or Modify WWN Assignments 54 6 Configuring Fibre Channel over Ethernet 56 Fibre Channel over Ethernet Adapters 56 Configuration Guidelines for Software FCoE 57 Set Up Networking for Software FCoE 58 Add Software FCoE Adapters 59 7 Booting ESXi from Fibre Channel SAN 60 Boot from SAN Benefits 60 Requirements and Considerations when Booting from Fibre Channel SAN 61 Getting Ready for Boot from SAN 61 Configure SAN Components and Storage System 62 Configure Storage Adapter to Boot from SAN 63 Set Up Your System to Boot from Installation Media 63 Configure Emulex HBA to Boot from SAN 63 Enable the BootBIOS Prompt 64 Enable the BIOS 64 Configure QLogic HBA to Boot from SAN 65 8 Booting ESXi with Software FCoE 67 Requirements and Considerations for Software FCoE Boot 67 Set Up Software FCoE Boot 68 Configure Software FCoE Boot Parameters 69 Install and Boot ESXi from Software FCoE LUN 69 Troubleshooting Boot from Software FCoE for an ESXi Host 70 VMware, Inc. 4 vSphere Storage 9 Best Practices for Fibre Channel Storage 71 Preventing Fibre Channel SAN Problems 71 Disable Automatic ESXi Host Registration 72 Optimizing Fibre Channel SAN Storage Performance 72 Storage Array Performance 73 Server Performance with Fibre Channel 73 10 Using ESXi with iSCSI SAN 75 About iSCSI SAN 75 iSCSI Multipathing 76 Nodes and Ports in the iSCSI SAN 77 iSCSI Naming Conventions 77 iSCSI Initiators 78 About the VMware iSER Adapter 79 Establishing iSCSI Connections 79 iSCSI Storage System Types 80 Discovery, Authentication, and Access Control 81 How Virtual Machines Access Data on an iSCSI SAN 82 Error Correction 83 11 Configuring iSCSI Adapters and Storage 84 ESXi iSCSI SAN Recommendations and Restrictions 85 Configuring iSCSI Parameters for Adapters 85 Set Up Independent Hardware iSCSI Adapters 86 View Independent Hardware iSCSI Adapters 87 Edit Network Settings for Hardware iSCSI 88 Configure Dependent Hardware iSCSI Adapters 89 Dependent Hardware iSCSI Considerations 90 View Dependent Hardware iSCSI Adapters 90 Determine Association Between iSCSI and Network Adapters 91 Configure the Software iSCSI Adapter 91 Activate or Disable the Software iSCSI Adapter 92 Configure iSER Adapters 93 Enable the VMware iSER Adapter 94 View RDMA Capable Network Adapter 95 Modify General Properties for iSCSI or iSER Adapters 96 Setting Up Network for iSCSI and iSER 97 Multiple Network Adapters in iSCSI or iSER Configuration 98 Best Practices for Configuring Networking with Software iSCSI 100 Configure Port Binding for iSCSI or iSER 104 Managing iSCSI Network 108 VMware, Inc. 5 vSphere Storage iSCSI Network Troubleshooting 108 Using Jumbo Frames with iSCSI 109 Enable Jumbo Frames for Networking 109 Enable Jumbo Frames for Independent Hardware iSCSI 110 Configuring Discovery Addresses for iSCSI Adapters 110 Configure Dynamic or Static Discovery for iSCSI and iSER on ESXi Host 111 Remove Dynamic or Static iSCSI Targets 111 Configuring CHAP Parameters for iSCSI Adapters 112 Selecting CHAP Authentication Method 112 Set Up CHAP for iSCSI or iSER Adapter 113 Set Up CHAP for Target 114 Configuring Advanced Parameters for iSCSI 116 Configure Advanced Parameters for iSCSI on ESXi Host 117 iSCSI Session Management 118 Review iSCSI Sessions 118 Add iSCSI Sessions 119 Remove iSCSI Sessions 119 12 Booting from iSCSI SAN 121 General Recommendations for Boot from iSCSI SAN 121 Prepare the iSCSI SAN 122 Configure Independent Hardware iSCSI Adapter for SAN Boot 123 Configure iSCSI Boot Settings 123 13 Best Practices for iSCSI Storage 125 Preventing iSCSI SAN Problems 125 Optimizing iSCSI SAN Storage Performance 126 Storage System Performance 126 Server Performance with iSCSI 127 Network Performance 127 Checking Ethernet Switch Statistics 130 14 Managing Storage Devices 131 Storage Device Characteristics 131 Display Storage Devices for an ESXi Host 132 Display Storage Devices for an Adapter 133 Device Sector Formats 134 Storage Device Names and Identifiers 135 NVMe Devices with NGUID Device Identifiers 137 Upgrade Stateless ESXi Hosts with NGUID-only NVMe Devices to Version 7.0 138 Rename Storage Devices 140 VMware, Inc. 6 vSphere Storage Storage Rescan Operations 141 Perform Storage Rescan 141 Perform Adapter Rescan 142 Change the Number of Scanned Storage Devices 142 Identifying Device Connectivity Problems 143 Detecting PDL Conditions 143 Performing Planned Storage Device Removal 144 Recovering from PDL Conditions 146 Handling Transient APD Conditions 146 Verify the Connection Status of a Storage Device on ESXi Host 148 Enable or Disable Locator LED on ESXi Storage Devices 149 Erase Storage Devices 149 Change Perennial Reservation Settings 150 15 Working with Flash Devices 152 Marking Storage Devices 153 Mark Storage Devices as Flash 153 Mark Storage Devices as Local 154 Monitor Flash Devices 154 Best Practices for Flash Devices 155 Estimate Lifetime of Flash Devices 155 About Virtual Flash Resource 156 Considerations for Virtual Flash Resource 156 Set Up Virtual Flash Resource 157 Remove Virtual Flash Resource 158 Set Alarm for Virtual Flash Use 159 Configure Host Cache with VMFS Datastore 159 Keeping Flash Disks VMFS-Free 160 16 About VMware NVMe Storage 161 VMware NVMe Concepts 161 Basic VMware NVMe Architecture and Components 163 Requirements and Limitations of VMware NVMe Storage 165 Configure Adapters for NVMe over RDMA (RoCE v2) Storage 167 Configure RDMA Network Adapters 167 Enable Software NVMe over RDMA Adapters 169 Add Controller for the NVMe over RDMA (RoCE v2) or FC-NVMe Adapter 170 Remove the Software NVMe over RDMA Adapter 171 17 Working with Datastores 173 Types of Datastores 173 VMware, Inc. 7 vSphere Storage Understanding VMFS Datastores 174 Versions of VMFS Datastores 175 VMFS Datastores as Repositories 177 Sharing a VMFS Datastore Across Hosts 177 VMFS Metadata Updates 178 VMFS Locking Mechanisms 179 Snapshot Formats on VMFS 183 Upgrading VMFS Datastores 184 Understanding Network File System Datastores 184 NFS Protocols and ESXi 185 NFS Storage Guidelines and Requirements 186 Firewall Configurations for NFS Storage 190 Using Layer 3 Routed Connections to Access NFS Storage 192 Using Kerberos for NFS 4.1 192 Set Up NFS Storage Environment 193 Configure ESXi Hosts for Kerberos Authentication 194 Creating Datastores 197 Create a VMFS Datastore 197 Create an NFS Datastore 199 Create a vVols Datastore 200 Managing Duplicate VMFS Datastores 200 Mount a VMFS Datastore Copy 201 Increase VMFS Datastore Capacity 202 Enable or Disable Support for Clustered Virtual Disks on the VMFS6 Datastore 204 Administrative Operations for Datastores 205 Change Datastore Name 205 Unmount Datastores 206 Mount Datastores 207 Remove VMFS Datastores 207 Use Datastore Browser 208 Turn Off Storage Filters 212 Set Up Dynamic Disk Mirroring 213 Collecting Diagnostic Information for ESXi Hosts on a VMFS Datastore 214 Set Up a File as Core Dump Location 215 Deactivate and Delete a Core Dump File 216 Checking Metadata Consistency with VOMA 217 Use VOMA to Check Metadata Consistency 219 Configuring VMFS Pointer Block Cache 220 Obtain Information for VMFS Pointer Block Cache 221 Change the Size of the Pointer Block Cache 222 VMware, Inc. 8 vSphere Storage 18 Understanding Multipathing and Failover 223 Failovers with Fibre Channel 223 Host-Based Failover with iSCSI 224 Array-Based Failover with iSCSI 226 Path Failover and Virtual Machines 227 Set Timeout on Windows Guest OS 227 Pluggable Storage Architecture and Path Management 228 About Pluggable Storage Architecture