vSphere Storage - ESXi 5.1 - Documentation - VMware
vSphere Storage - ESXi 5.1 - Documentation - VMware
vSphere Storage - ESXi 5.1 - Documentation - VMware
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<strong>vSphere</strong> <strong>Storage</strong><br />
Ports in Fibre Channel SAN<br />
In the context of this document, a port is the connection from a device into the SAN. Each node in the SAN,<br />
such as a host, a storage device, or a fabric component has one or more ports that connect it to the SAN. Ports<br />
are identified in a number of ways.<br />
WWPN (World Wide Port<br />
Name)<br />
A globally unique identifier for a port that allows certain applications to access<br />
the port. The FC switches discover the WWPN of a device or host and assign<br />
a port address to the device.<br />
Port_ID (or port address) Within a SAN, each port has a unique port ID that serves as the FC address for<br />
the port. This unique ID enables routing of data through the SAN to that port.<br />
The FC switches assign the port ID when the device logs in to the fabric. The<br />
port ID is valid only while the device is logged on.<br />
When N-Port ID Virtualization (NPIV) is used, a single FC HBA port (N-port) can register with the fabric by<br />
using several WWPNs. This method allows an N-port to claim multiple fabric addresses, each of which appears<br />
as a unique entity. When <strong>ESXi</strong> hosts use a SAN, these multiple, unique identifiers allow the assignment of<br />
WWNs to individual virtual machines as part of their configuration.<br />
Fibre Channel <strong>Storage</strong> Array Types<br />
<strong>ESXi</strong> supports different storage systems and arrays.<br />
The types of storage that your host supports include active-active, active-passive, and ALUA-compliant.<br />
Active-active storage<br />
system<br />
Active-passive storage<br />
system<br />
Asymmetrical storage<br />
system<br />
Using Zoning with Fibre Channel SANs<br />
Allows access to the LUNs simultaneously through all the storage ports that<br />
are available without significant performance degradation. All the paths are<br />
active at all times, unless a path fails.<br />
A system in which one storage processor is actively providing access to a given<br />
LUN. The other processors act as backup for the LUN and can be actively<br />
providing access to other LUN I/O. I/O can be successfully sent only to an active<br />
port for a given LUN. If access through the active storage port fails, one of the<br />
passive storage processors can be activated by the servers accessing it.<br />
Supports Asymmetric Logical Unit Access (ALUA). ALUA-complaint storage<br />
systems provide different levels of access per port. ALUA allows hosts to<br />
determine the states of target ports and prioritize paths. The host uses some of<br />
the active paths as primary while others as secondary.<br />
Zoning provides access control in the SAN topology. Zoning defines which HBAs can connect to which targets.<br />
When you configure a SAN by using zoning, the devices outside a zone are not visible to the devices inside<br />
the zone.<br />
Zoning has the following effects:<br />
n Reduces the number of targets and LUNs presented to a host.<br />
n Controls and isolates paths in a fabric.<br />
n Can prevent non-<strong>ESXi</strong> systems from accessing a particular storage system, and from possibly destroying<br />
VMFS data.<br />
n Can be used to separate different environments, for example, a test from a production environment.<br />
36 <strong>VMware</strong>, Inc.