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

Chapter 16 Working with Datastores• You can perform a VMFS3 to VMFS5 upgrade while the datastore is in use with virtual machinespowered on.• While performing an upgrade, your host preserves all files on the datastore.• The datastore upgrade is a one-way process. After upgrading your datastore, you cannot revert it backto its previous VMFS format.An upgraded VMFS5 datastore differs from a newly formatted VMFS5.Table 16‐3. Comparing Upgraded and Newly Formatted VMFS5 DatastoresCharacteristics Upgraded VMFS5 Formatted VMFS5File block size 1, 2, 4, and 8MB 1MBSubblock size 64KB 8KBPartition formatDatastore limitsMBR. Conversion to GPT happens onlyafter you expand the datastore to a sizelarger than 2TB.Retains limits of VMFS3 datastore.GPTUpgrade a Datastore to VMFS5 in the vSphere Web ClientYou can upgrade your VMFS3 datastore to VMFS5. VMFS5 is a new version of the VMware cluster filesystem that provides performance and scalability improvements.You can perform an upgrade while the datastore is in use with virtual machines powered on.Prerequisites• If you have a VMFS2 datastore, you must first upgrade it to VMFS3 using an ESX/ESXi 3.x or ESX/ESXi4.x host. Use the vSphere Host Client to access the host.• All hosts accessing the datastore must support VMFS5.• Verify that the volume to be upgraded has at least 2MB of free blocks available and 1 free filedescriptor.• Browse to Datastores in the vSphere Web Client navigator. See “Display Datastore Information in thevSphere Web Client,” on page 22.Procedure1 Click the datastore to upgrade.2 Click the Manage tab, and click Settings.3 Click Upgrade to VMFS5.4 Verify that the hosts accessing the datastore support VMFS5.5 Click OK to start the upgrade.6 Perform a rescan on all hosts that are associated with the datastore.The datastore is upgraded to VMFS5 and is available to all hosts that are associated with the datastore.VMware, Inc. 143