vSphere Storage - ESXi 5.0 - Documentation - VMware
vSphere Storage - ESXi 5.0 - Documentation - VMware
vSphere Storage - ESXi 5.0 - Documentation - VMware
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<strong>vSphere</strong> <strong>Storage</strong><br />
Although this storage configuration is possible, it is not a recommended topology. Using single connections<br />
between storage arrays and hosts creates single points of failure (SPOF) that can cause interruptions when a<br />
connection becomes unreliable or fails.<br />
<strong>ESXi</strong> supports a variety of internal or external local storage devices, including SCSI, IDE, SATA, USB, and SAS<br />
storage systems. Regardless of the type of storage you use, your host hides a physical storage layer from virtual<br />
machines.<br />
NOTE You cannot use IDE/ATA or USB drives to store virtual machines.<br />
Local storage devices do not support sharing across multiple hosts. A datastore on a local storage device can<br />
be accessed by only one host.<br />
Because the majority of local storage devices do not support multiple connections, you cannot use multiple<br />
paths to access local storage.<br />
Networked <strong>Storage</strong><br />
Networked storage consists of external storage systems that your <strong>ESXi</strong> host uses to store virtual machine files<br />
remotely. Typically, the host accesses these systems over a high-speed storage network.<br />
Networked storage devices are shared. Datastores on networked storage devices can be accessed by multiple<br />
hosts concurrently. <strong>ESXi</strong> supports the following networked storage technologies.<br />
NOTE Accessing the same storage through different transport protocols, such as iSCSI and Fibre Channel, at<br />
the same time is not supported.<br />
Fibre Channel (FC)<br />
Stores virtual machine files remotely on an FC storage area network (SAN). FC SAN is a specialized high-speed<br />
network that connects your hosts to high-performance storage devices. The network uses Fibre Channel<br />
protocol to transport SCSI traffic from virtual machines to the FC SAN devices.<br />
To connect to the FC SAN, your host should be equipped with Fibre Channel host bus adapters (HBAs). Unless<br />
you use Fibre Channel direct connect storage, you need Fibre Channel switches to route storage traffic. If your<br />
host contains FCoE (Fibre Channel over Ethernet) adapters, you can connect to your shared Fibre Channel<br />
devices by using an Ethernet network.<br />
Fibre Channel <strong>Storage</strong> depicts virtual machines using Fibre Channel storage.<br />
12 <strong>VMware</strong>, Inc.
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