Vi3 Ic Rev B - 04 Storage

Storage
Module 4
VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

Copyright © 2006 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. 4-1
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Virtual Infrastructure Overview
ESX Server Installation VM Creation & Management VM Resource Monitoring
Networking VM Access Control Data & Availability Protection
Storage VM Resource Management Troubleshooting Tips
VirtualCenter Installation

Importance and module objectives
• Importance
• Storage options give you the flexibility in setting up your disk
requirements based on cost, performance, manageability
• Shared storage is useful for disaster recovery, high availability and
moving VMs between ESX Servers
• Objectives for the learner
• Make Fibre Channel SAN storage available to ESX Servers
• Identify components to be configured for iSCSI storage
• Create a VMFS datastore
• Create an NFS datastore

Module lessons
• Lesson 1: Fibre Channel SAN Storage

• Lesson 2: iSCSI SAN Storage
• Lesson 3: VMFS Datastore
• Lesson 4: NAS Storage and NFS Datastores
• Lesson 5: Storage Considerations

Lesson 1:
Fibre Channel
SAN Storage

Lesson topics
• Fibre Channel SAN components and addressing

• Configuring Fibre Channel SAN storage

Components of a Fibre Channel (FC) SAN

Addressing and access control in an FC SAN

Addressing SAN LUNs in the VMkernel
VMkernel addresses disk partitions as follows:
Examples: LUN addresses Partition addresses

vmhba0:0:11 vmhba0:0:11:3
vmhba1:1:12 vmhba1:1:12:1

Making SAN storage available to ESX Server
• The Fibre Channel storage adapter is recognized by the

VMkernel during the boot sequence
• At boot up, the VMkernel scans up to 256 LUNs

• The Rescan link allows the VMkernel to scan the Fibre
Channel SAN for additional LUNs

Lesson summary
• The worldwide name (WWN) uniquely identifies a node in

the Fibre Channel network
• LUN masking makes a LUN invisible when a target is
scanned, and is usually set at the SP level
• The Vmkernel addresses LUNs using the following syntax:
vmhbaadapter#:target#:LUN#:partition#

Lesson 2:
iSCSI SAN Storage

Lesson topics
• iSCSI components and addressing

• iSCSI hardware and software initiators
• Configuring iSCSI software-initiated storage

What is iSCSI?
• A SCSI transport protocol, enabling access to storage

devices over standard TCP/IP networks
• Maps SCSI block-oriented storage over TCP/IP
• Similar to mapping SCSI over Fibre Channel
• “Initiators”, such as an iSCSI HBA in an ESX Server,
send SCSI commands to “targets”, located in iSCSI
storage systems
Block storage
IP

How is iSCSI used with ESX Server?
• Boot ESX Server from iSCSI storage

• Using hardware initiator only
• Create a VMFS on an iSCSI LUN
• To hold VM State, ISO images, and templates
• Allows VM access to a raw iSCSI LUN
• Allows VMotion migration of a VM whose files
resides on an iSCSI LUN

Components of an iSCSI SAN
Targets
IP Network
Initiators
* Software implementation

Addressing in an iSCSI SAN
iSCSI target name

iqn.1992-08.com.netapp:stor1
iSCSI alias
stor1
IP address
192.168.36.101
iSCSI initiator name

iqn.1998-01.com.vmware:train1 IP Network
iSCSI alias
train1
IP address
192.168.36.88
Qlogic QLA4010 iSCSI Adapter

How iSCSI LUNs are discovered
• Two discovery
methods are
supported:
• Static Configuration
• SendTargets
• iSCSI device returns 192.168.36.101:3260
its target info as well
as any additional IP Network
target info that it
knows about. SendTargets SendTargets
request response
iSCSI target
192.168.36.101:3260

How iSCSI storage authenticates the ESX Server
• CHAP (Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol)

• Allows a password to be verified without sending the
password (in cleartext) over the network
CHAP password: K CHAP password: K
Log into target Create random hash/computation value “C” and

send value back to ESX Server;
perform local computation against K using C to
C come up with R.
Computes using
formula against K
using C and sends
result R R Compares local R against returned R;
If match, then ESX Server is authenticated.

iSCSI software and hardware initiator
ESX Server 3 provides full support for software initiators
Software Initiator Hardware Initiator

Set up networking for iSCSI software initiator
• Both Service Console and VMkernel need to access the iSCSI

storage
• Two ways to do this:
1. Have Service Console port and VMkernel port share
a virtual switch and be in the same subnet
7. Have routing in place so both the Service Console port and

VMkernel port can access the storage

Enable the Software iSCSI Client

Configure the iSCSI software adapter

Configure software initiator: General properties
• Enable the iSCSI initiator

Configure software initiator: General properties (2)
• The iSCSI name and alias are automatically filled in after
initiator is enabled

Configure software initiator: Dynamic discovery
• In the Dynamic
Discovery tab, enter
the IP address of
each target server for
initiator to establish a
discovery session
• All available targets
returned by the target
server show up in the
Static Discovery tab

Configure software initiator: CHAP Authentication
• By default, CHAP
is disabled
• Enable CHAP and
enter CHAP name
and secret

Discover iSCSI LUNs
• Rescan to find new LUNs

Lesson summary
• ESX Server provides full support for the iSCSI software

initiator and experimental support for hardware initiator
• iSCSI targets and initiators are identified by an IQN
(iSCSI qualified name)
• The sendTargets discovery method is the only method for
a software initiator to discover LUNs in an iSCSI target

Lesson 3:
VMFS Datastore

Lesson topics
• Creating a VMFS datastore

• Extending a VMFS datastore
• Multipathing

What is a VMFS?
• Repository of virtual machines and virtual machine state

• Each virtual machine’s files are located in its own subdirectory
• Repository for other files
• Templates
• ISO images
• VMFS volumes are addressed by a volume label, a
datastore name and physical address (e.g. vmhba1:0:0:1)
• VMFS volumes are accessible in the service console
underneath /vmfs/volumes

Creating a VMFS
• Select device location (iSCSI or Fibre Channel LUN)
• Specify datastore name
• Change maximum file size/disk capacity, if desired

VMFS properties

Question
How can you

tell if the VMFS
is on a Fibre
Channel device
or an iSCSI
device?

Extend a VMFS
• The size of a VMFS can be extended dynamically

• Why extend a VMFS?
• To give a VMFS more space without taking it offline
• To create a VMFS > 2TB
After spanning
Before spanning
vmhba0:0:3:1 vmhba0:0:6:1 vmhba0:0:3:1 vmhba0:0:6:1

Extent

Add extent candidate to VMFS
• The list of possible extent candidates will not include LUNs

with existing VMFSes
• If you choose a candidate with existing data (e.g. an NTFS),
you are warned that data will be permanently lost if you
use it

VMFS extent list updated
VMFS “LUN05”
has two extents

Multipathing with Fibre Channel
• Multipathing allows continued access to

SAN LUN in the event of hardware failure
• Failover occurs automatically, with a
configurable delay
• Exactly one path is active (in use) to
any LUN at any time
• Can enable/disable individual failover paths
by changing their status
• Two failover policies exist:
• MRU (Most Recently Used, default)
• Continue to use last active path, no auto-failbacks
• Fixed (Preferred path)
• Revert back to preferred path when available
• Preferred and active paths may be set for each LUN

Multipathing with iSCSI
• SendTargets advertises
multiple routes
• It reports different IP addresses
to allow different paths to the
iSCSI LUNs
• Routing done via IP network
• For the software initiator
• Counts as one network interface
• NIC teaming and multiple IP Network
SPs allow for multiple paths

Manage multiple paths

Labs for Lesson 3
1. Create VMFS Datastore

• In this lab, you will perform the following tasks:
• Display information about your fibre channel adapter
• Create a VMFS datastore on a fibre channel SAN LUN
2. (OPTIONAL) Extend a VMFS

• Add an extent to a VMFS datastore
• Remove an extent from a VMFS datastore

Lesson summary
• A VMFS datastore is used to hold templates, ISO images

and the files that make up a VM
• The size of a VMFS can be dynamically extended
• Multipathing in either a Fibre Channel or iSCSI LUN is
used for path failover

Lesson 4:
NAS Storage and
NFS Datastores

Lesson topics
• NAS storage
• NFS components and addressing
• Configuring an NFS datastore

What is NAS and NFS?
• What is NAS?
• Network-Attached Storage
• Storage shared over the network at a filesystem level
• Why use NAS?
• A low-cost, moderate-performance option
• Less infrastructure investment required than with Fibre Channel
• There are two key NAS protocols:
• NFS (the “Network File System”)
• SMB (Windows networking, also known as “CIFS”)
• Major NAS appliances support both NFS and SMB
• Notably those from Network Appliance and EMC
• Server operating systems also support both

How is NAS used with ESX Server?
• The VMkernel only supports NFS

• More specifically NFS version 3, carried over TCP
• NFS volumes are treated just like VMFS volumes in
Fibre Channel or iSCSI storage
• Any can hold VMs’ running virtual disks
• Any can hold ISO images
• Any can hold VM templates
• Virtual machines with virtual disks on NAS storage can
be VMotioned, subject to the usual constraints
• Compatible CPUs
• All needed networks and storage must be visible at destination

NFS components
Directory to share
NAS device or a server
with the ESX Server over
with storage
the network
IP Network
ESX Server with NIC VMkernel port defined on

mapped to virtual switch virtual switch

Addressing and access control with NFS
/etc/exports
/iso 192.168.81.0/24
(rw,no_root_squash,sync)
192.168.81.33
IP Network
192.168.81.72
VMkernel port configured
with
IP address

Before you begin using NAS/NFS
Create a VMkernel port on a virtual switch
You must define a new IP address for

NAS use, different from the Service
Console’s IP address

Configure an NFS datastore
Describe the NFS share

Configure an NFS datastore (cont.)
Verify that the NFS datastore has been added

Lab for lesson 4

• Create a VMkernel port to access NFS storage

Lesson summary
• An NFS datastore can be used to hold templates, ISO

images and the files that make up a VM
• ESX Server supports NFS version 3 over TCP
• A VMkernel port must be configured in order for the
VMkernel to access the IP-based storage

Lesson 5:
Storage
Considerations

Lesson topics
• Storage comparisons
• Storage considerations

Storage comparison—Fibre Channel, NAS, iSCSI
Technology Protocols Transfers Interface Performance
Block access High (due to dedicated

Fibre Channel FC/SCSI FC HBA
of data/LUN network)
Block access iSCSI HBA Medium (depends on

iSCSI IP/SCSI
of data/LUN or NIC integrity of LAN)
File (no
NIC and IP Medium (depends on
NAS IP/NFS direct LUN
switches integrity of LAN)
access)

ESX Server feature comparison by storage type
Boot ESX VM VMware

Type Boot VM VMotion VMFS RDM VCB
Server Cluster HA & DRS
Fibre
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Channel
iSCSI Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No
NAS Yes No Yes No No No Yes No

Storage considerations
Component Considerations
One VMFS volume per LUN;
VMFS Use more than one VMFS to maintain separate test and production
environments
Use RDMs with VMs for 1) physical-to-virtual clusters or cluster-
RDM across-boxes and 2) use of hardware snapshotting functions of the disk
array
Each boot LUN should be seen only by the ESX Server booting from
Boot-from-SAN
that LUN
LUNs holding the VM’s virtual disks must be visible from both source
VMotion
and destination ESX Servers
Each server has access to same shared storage;

Server failover
All LUNs use by clustered VMs must be seen by all ESX Servers

Storage considerations (2)
Component Considerations
For best performance and security, put iSCSI on a separate and isolated
iSCSI
IP network
For best performance and security, put NAS on a separate and isolated
IP network;
ESX Server needs full access to NFS datastores to create directories, set
NAS/NFS permissions (Use no_root_squash)
8 NFS mounts per ESX Server allowed, by default;
Avoid VM swapping to NFS volumes

General SAN considerations
• Each LUN should have the

right RAID level and storage
characteristics for applications
in VMs that will use it
• Spread I/O loads over
available paths to storage

Two schemes for locating virtual disks

Module summary
• A SAN LUN is addressed by the VMkernel using the

following syntax: vmhbaadapterID:targetID:LUN:partition
• A VMFS datastore is used to locate virtual disk files,
ISO images and templates
• A VMkernel port must be configured for IP storage
networking, needed to access iSCSI and NAS storage
• An IQN and a WWN uniquely identify nodes in an iSCSI
SAN and fibre channel SAN, respectively

Questions?


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Storage

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

Virtual Infrastructure Virtual Machines Operations

ESX Server Installation VM Creation & Management VM Resource Monitoring

Networking VM Access Control Data & Availability Protection

Storage VM Resource Management Troubleshooting Tips

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

• Lesson 1: Fibre Channel SAN Storage

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

• Fibre Channel SAN components and addressing

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

VMkernel addresses disk partitions as follows:

Examples: LUN addresses Partition addresses

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

• The Fibre Channel storage adapter is recognized by the

• At boot up, the VMkernel scans up to 256 LUNs

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

• The worldwide name (WWN) uniquely identifies a node in

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

• iSCSI components and addressing

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

• A SCSI transport protocol, enabling access to storage

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

• Boot ESX Server from iSCSI storage

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

iSCSI target name

iSCSI initiator name

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

• CHAP (Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol)

CHAP password: K CHAP password: K

Log into target Create random hash/computation value “C” and

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

ESX Server 3 provides full support for software initiators

Software Initiator Hardware Initiator

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

• Both Service Console and VMkernel need to access the iSCSI

7. Have routing in place so both the Service Console port and

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

• ESX Server provides full support for the iSCSI software

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

• Creating a VMFS datastore

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

• Repository of virtual machines and virtual machine state

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B

• Specify datastore name

• Change maximum file size/disk capacity, if desired

VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure – Rev B