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 />
For the software FCoE adapter, you must properly configure networking and then activate the adapter.<br />
NOTE The number of software FCoE adapters you activate corresponds to the number of physical NIC ports.<br />
<strong>ESXi</strong> supports a maximum of four software FCoE adapters on one host.<br />
Configuration Guidelines for Software FCoE<br />
When setting up your network environment to work with <strong>ESXi</strong> software FCoE, follow the guidelines and best<br />
practices that <strong>VMware</strong> offers.<br />
Network Switch Guidelines<br />
Follow these guidelines when you configure a network switch for software FCoE environment:<br />
n On the ports that communicate with your <strong>ESXi</strong> host, disable the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP). Having<br />
the STP enabled might delay the FCoE Initialization Protocol (FIP) response at the switch and cause an all<br />
paths down (APD) condition.<br />
The FIP is a protocol that FCoE uses to discover and initialize FCoE entities on the Ethernet.<br />
n Turn on Priority-based Flow Control (PFC) and set it to AUTO.<br />
<strong>VMware</strong> recommends that you use the following firmware on the FCoE switch:<br />
n Cisco Nexus 5000: version 4.1(3)N2 or higher.<br />
n Brocade FCoE switch: version 6.3.1 or higher.<br />
Network Adapter Best Practices<br />
If you plan to enable software FCoE adapters to work with network adapters, specific considerations apply.<br />
n Make sure that the latest microcode is installed on the FCoE network adapter.<br />
n If the network adapter has multiple ports, when configuring networking, add each port to a separate<br />
vSwitch. This practice helps you to avoid an APD condition when a disruptive event, such as an MTU<br />
change, occurs.<br />
n Do not move a network adapter port from one vSwitch to another when FCoE traffic is active. If you need<br />
to make this change, reboot your host afterwards.<br />
n If you changed the vSwitch for a network adapter port and caused a failure, moving the port back to the<br />
original vSwitch resolves the problem.<br />
Set Up Networking for Software FCoE<br />
Before you activate the software FCoE adapters, you need to connect the VMkernel to physical FCoE NICs<br />
installed on your host.<br />
Procedure<br />
1 Log in to the <strong>vSphere</strong> Client, and select a host from the inventory panel.<br />
2 Click the Configuration tab and click Networking.<br />
3 In the <strong>vSphere</strong> standard switch view, click Add Networking.<br />
4 Select VMkernel and click Next.<br />
5 Select Create a <strong>vSphere</strong> standard switch to create a new <strong>vSphere</strong> standard switch.<br />
46 <strong>VMware</strong>, Inc.