vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-55-storage-guide

vSphere Storage• Configure a diagnostic partition.• With independent hardware iSCSI only, you can place the diagnostic partition on the boot LUN. Ifyou configure the diagnostic partition in the boot LUN, this LUN cannot be shared across multiplehosts. If a separate LUN is used for the diagnostic partition, it can be shared by multiple hosts.• If you boot from SAN using iBFT, you cannot set up a diagnostic partition on a SAN LUN. Tocollect your host's diagnostic information, use the vSphere ESXi Dump Collector on a remoteserver. For information about the ESXi Dump Collector, see vSphere Installation and Setup andvSphere Networking.Prepare the iSCSI SANBefore you configure your host to boot from an iSCSI LUN, prepare and configure your storage areanetwork.CAUTION If you use scripted installation to install ESXi when booting from a SAN, you must take specialsteps to avoid unintended data loss.Procedure1 Connect network cables, referring to any cabling guide that applies to your setup.2 Ensure IP connectivity between your storage system and server.This includes proper configuration of any routers or switches on your storage network. Storage systemsmust be able to ping the iSCSI adapters in your hosts.3 Configure the storage system.abCreate a volume (or LUN) on the storage system for your host to boot from.Configure the storage system so that your host has access to the assigned LUN.This could involve updating ACLs with the IP addresses, iSCSI names, and the CHAPauthentication parameter you use on your host. On some storage systems, in addition to providingaccess information for the ESXi host, you must also explicitly associate the assigned LUN with thehost.cdeEnsure that the LUN is presented to the host correctly.Ensure that no other system has access to the configured LUN.Record the iSCSI name and IP addresses of the targets assigned to the host.You must have this information to configure your iSCSI adapters.Configure Independent Hardware iSCSI Adapter for SAN BootIf your ESXi host uses an independent hardware iSCSI adapter, such as QLogic HBA, you need to configurethe adapter to boot from the SAN.This procedure discusses how to enable the QLogic iSCSI HBA to boot from the SAN. For more informationand more up-to-date details about QLogic adapter configuration settings, see the QLogic web site.PrerequisitesBecause you first need to boot from the VMware installation media, set up your host to boot from CD/DVD-ROM. To achieve this, change the system boot sequence in your system BIOS setup.Procedure1 Insert the installation CD/DVD in the CD/DVD-ROM drive and reboot the host.108 VMware, Inc.