vSphere Storage VMware vSphere 6.5 VMware ESXi 6.5 vCenter Server 6.5 This document supports the version of each product listed and supports all subsequent versions until the document is replaced by a new edition. To check for more recent editions of this document, see http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs. EN-002312-03 vSphere Storage You can ®nd the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware Web site at: http://www.vmware.com/support/ The VMware Web site also provides the latest product updates. If you have comments about this documentation, submit your feedback to: [email protected] Copyright © 2009–2017 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright and trademark information. VMware, Inc. 3401 Hillview Ave. Palo Alto, CA 94304 www.vmware.com 2 VMware, Inc. Contents About vSphere Storage 9 Updated Information 11 1 Introduction to Storage 13 Storage Virtualization 13 Types of Physical Storage 14 Target and Device Representations 17 Storage Device Characteristics 18 Supported Storage Adapters 20 Datastore Characteristics 21 How Virtual Machines Access Storage 24 Comparing Types of Storage 24 vSphere Storage APIs 25 2 Overview of Using ESXi with a SAN 27 ESXi and SAN Use Cases 28 Specifics of Using SAN Storage with ESXi 28 ESXi Hosts and Multiple Storage Arrays 29 Making LUN Decisions 29 Choosing Virtual Machine Locations 30 Layered Applications 31 Third-Party Management Applications 32 SAN Storage Backup Considerations 32 3 Using ESXi with Fibre Channel SAN 35 Fibre Channel SAN Concepts 35 Using Zoning with Fibre Channel SANs 36 How Virtual Machines Access Data on a Fibre Channel SAN 37 4 Configuring Fibre Channel Storage 39 ESXi Fibre Channel SAN Requirements 39 Installation and Setup Steps 40 N-Port ID Virtualization 41 5 Configuring Fibre Channel over Ethernet 45 Fibre Channel over Ethernet Adapters 45 Configuration Guidelines for Software FCoE 46 Set Up Networking for Software FCoE 46 Add Software FCoE Adapters 47 VMware, Inc. 3 vSphere Storage 6 Booting ESXi from Fibre Channel SAN 49 Boot from SAN Benefits 49 Boot from Fibre Channel SAN Requirements and Considerations 50 Getting Ready for Boot from SAN 50 Configure Emulex HBA to Boot from SAN 52 Configure QLogic HBA to Boot from SAN 53 7 Booting ESXi with Software FCoE 55 Requirements and Considerations for Software FCoE Boot 55 Best Practices for Software FCoE Boot 56 Set Up Software FCoE Boot 56 Troubleshooting Installation and Boot from Software FCoE 57 8 Best Practices for Fibre Channel Storage 59 Preventing Fibre Channel SAN Problems 59 Disable Automatic Host Registration 60 Optimizing Fibre Channel SAN Storage Performance 60 9 Using ESXi with iSCSI SAN 63 iSCSI SAN Concepts 63 How Virtual Machines Access Data on an iSCSI SAN 68 10 Configuring iSCSI Adapters and Storage 69 ESXi iSCSI SAN Requirements 70 ESXi iSCSI SAN Restrictions 70 Setting LUN Allocations for iSCSI 70 Network Configuration and Authentication 71 Set Up Independent Hardware iSCSI Adapters 71 About Dependent Hardware iSCSI Adapters 74 About the Software iSCSI Adapter 77 Modify General Properties for iSCSI Adapters 81 Setting Up iSCSI Network 81 Using Jumbo Frames with iSCSI 91 Configuring Discovery Addresses for iSCSI Adapters 93 Configuring CHAP Parameters for iSCSI Adapters 94 Configuring Advanced Parameters for iSCSI 98 iSCSI Session Management 99 11 Booting from iSCSI SAN 103 General Boot from iSCSI SAN Recommendations 103 Prepare the iSCSI SAN 104 Configure Independent Hardware iSCSI Adapter for SAN Boot 104 iBFT iSCSI Boot Overview 105 12 Best Practices for iSCSI Storage 111 Preventing iSCSI SAN Problems 111 Optimizing iSCSI SAN Storage Performance 112 4 VMware, Inc. Contents Checking Ethernet Switch Statistics 115 13 Managing Storage Devices 117 Storage Device Characteristics 117 Understanding Storage Device Naming 119 Storage Rescan Operations 120 Identifying Device Connectivity Problems 122 Edit Configuration File Parameters 127 Enable or Disable the Locator LED on Storage Devices 128 Erase Storage Devices 128 14 Working with Flash Devices 129 Using Flash Devices with ESXi 130 Marking Storage Devices 130 Monitor Flash Devices 132 Best Practices for Flash Devices 132 About Virtual Flash Resource 133 Configuring Host Swap Cache 135 15 About VMware vSphere Flash Read Cache 137 DRS Support for Flash Read Cache 138 vSphere High Availability Support for Flash Read Cache 138 Configure Flash Read Cache for a Virtual Machine 138 Migrate Virtual Machines with Flash Read Cache 139 16 Working with Datastores 141 Understanding VMFS Datastores 142 Understanding Network File System Datastores 150 Creating Datastores 160 Managing Duplicate VMFS Datastores 163 Increasing VMFS Datastore Capacity 165 Administrative Operations for Datastores 166 Set Up Dynamic Disk Mirroring 173 Collecting Diagnostic Information for ESXi Hosts on a Storage Device 174 Checking Metadata Consistency with VOMA 177 Configuring VMFS Pointer Block Cache 179 17 Understanding Multipathing and Failover 181 Failover with Fibre Channel 181 Host-Based Failover with iSCSI 182 Array-Based Failover with iSCSI 184 Path Failover and Virtual Machines 185 Managing Multiple Paths 186 VMware Multipathing Module 187 Path Scanning and Claiming 189 Managing Storage Paths and Multipathing Plug-Ins 192 Scheduling Queues for Virtual Machine I/Os 200 VMware, Inc. 5 vSphere Storage 18 Raw Device Mapping 203 About Raw Device Mapping 203 Raw Device Mapping Characteristics 206 Create Virtual Machines with RDMs 208 Manage Paths for a Mapped LUN 209 19 Storage Policy Based Management 211 Virtual Machine Storage Policies 212 Working with Virtual Machine Storage Policies 212 Populating the VM Storage Policies Interface 213 Default Storage Policies 216 Creating and Managing VM Storage Policies 218 Storage Policies and Virtual Machines 227 20 Using Storage Providers 233 Storage Providers and Data Representation 234 Storage Provider Requirements and Considerations 235 Register Storage Providers 235 View Storage Provider Information 236 Unregister Storage Providers 236 Update Storage Providers 237 Refresh Storage Provider Certificates 237 21 Working with Virtual Volumes 239 Virtual Volumes Concepts 240 Virtual Volumes and Storage Protocols 244 Virtual Volumes Architecture 246 Virtual Volumes and VMware Certificate Authority 247 Snapshots and Virtual Volumes 248 Before You Enable Virtual Volumes 248 Configure Virtual Volumes 249 Provision Virtual Machines on Virtual Volumes Datastores 252 Virtual Volumes and Replication 256 Best Practices for Working with vSphere Virtual Volumes 260 22 Filtering Virtual Machine I/O 265 About I/O Filters 265 Using Flash Storage Devices with Cache I/O Filters 268 System Requirements for I/O Filters 268 Configure I/O Filters in the vSphere Environment 269 Managing I/O Filters 274 I/O Filter Guidelines and Best Practices 275 23 Storage Hardware Acceleration 277 Hardware Acceleration Benefits 277 Hardware Acceleration Requirements 278 Hardware Acceleration Support Status 278 Hardware Acceleration for Block Storage Devices 278 6 VMware, Inc. Contents Hardware Acceleration on NAS Devices 283 Hardware Acceleration Considerations 286 24 Storage Thick and Thin Provisioning 287 Virtual Disk Thin Provisioning 287 ESXi and Array Thin Provisioning 291 Storage Space Reclamation 293 25 Using vmkfstools 299 vmkfstools Command Syntax 299 vmkfstools Options 300 Index 311 VMware, Inc. 7 vSphere Storage 8 VMware, Inc. About vSphere Storage vSphere Storage describes storage options available to you and explains how to configure your VMware ESXi™ system and VMware vCenter Server® so that you can use and manage different types of storage. vSphere Storage explicitly concentrates on traditional types of storage, including Fibre Channel, iSCSI, and NAS, and discusses specifics of using ESXi and vCenter Server in these environments. In addition, vSphere Storage introduces storage virtualization mechanisms supported by ESXi and vCenter Server. vSphere Storage explains how you can enable and use such virtualization technologies as VMware vSphere® Flash Read Cache™, VMware vSphere® Virtual Volumes™, Storage Policy Based Management (SPBM), and I/O filters. Intended Audience This information is for experienced system administrators who are familiar with the virtual machine and storage virtualization technologies, data center operations, and SAN storage concepts. vSphere Web Client and vSphere Client Task instructions in this guide are based on the vSphere Web Client. You can also perform most of the tasks in this guide by using the new vSphere Client. The new vSphere Client user interface terminology, topology, and workflow are closely aligned with the same aspects and elements of the vSphere Web Client user interface. You can apply the vSphere Web Client instructions to the new vSphere Client unless otherwise instructed. Note Not all functionality in the vSphere Web Client has been implemented for the vSphere Client in the vSphere 6.5 release. For an up-to-date list of unsupported functionality, see Functionality Updates for the vSphere Client Guide at http://www.vmware.com/info?id=1413. VMware, Inc. 9 vSphere Storage 10 VMware, Inc. Updated Information This Updated Information is updated with each release of the product or when necessary. This table provides the update history of the vSphere Storage. Revision Description EN-002312-03 “NFS Protocols and ESXi,” on page 150 has been updated to clarify information about NFS 4.1 and Fault Tolerance. EN-002312-02 “Storage Space Reclamation,” on page 293 has been updated to include a video. EN-002312-01 n The “Best Practices for Working with vSphere Virtual Volumes,” on page 260 section has been updated with new information. n An incorrect statement that a host can support up to 1024 VMFS datastores has been removed from “VMFS Datastores as Repositories,” on page 144. In vSphere 6.5, up to 512 VMFS5 or VMFS6 datastores are supported per host. n “Versions of VMFS Datastores,” on page 142 has been corrected to state that a host can support up to 512 datastores. n “Assign Tags to Datastores,” on page 215 now includes a video that illustrates how to use the datastore tags. EN-002312-00 Initial release. VMware, Inc. 11 vSphere Storage 12 VMware, Inc.