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

vSphere StorageSet Up Networking for Virtual SANTo be able to use Virtual SAN, you must correctly configure network interfaces on the ESXi host that areincluded in the Virtual SAN cluster. Hosts use Virtual SAN network to communicate with each other.On each host that participates in the Virtual SAN cluster, create a VMkernel network adapter to use as aVirtual SAN interface.Procedure1 In the vSphere Web Client, navigate to the host.2 Click the Manage tab and click Networking.3 Select VMkernel adapters and click the Add host networking icon.4 On the Select connection type page, select VMkernel Network Adapter and click Next.5 Configure a target device.6 On the Port properties page, select Virtual SAN traffic.7 Complete the VMkernel adapter configuration.8 Verify that the Virtual SAN column shows Enabled as the status for the VMkernel adapter.Virtual SAN is enabled for networking.What to do nextYou can now activate Virtual SAN on the host cluster.Using Virtual SAN and vSphere HAYou can enable vSphere HA and Virtual SAN on the same cluster. As with traditional datastores, vSphereHA provides the same level of protection for virtual machines that reside on Virtual SAN datastores.However, specific considerations exist when vSphere HA and Virtual SAN interact.ESXi Host RequirementsYou can use Virtual SAN with a vSphere HA cluster only if the following conditions are met:• The cluster's ESXi hosts all must be version 5.5 or later.• The cluster must have a minimum of three ESXi hosts.Networking DifferencesVirtual SAN has its own network. When Virtual SAN and vSphere HA are enabled for the same cluster, theHA interagent traffic flows over this storage network rather than the management network. Themanagement network is used by vSphere HA only when Virtual SAN is disabled. vCenter Server choosesthe appropriate network when vSphere HA is configured on a host.NOTE Virtual SAN can only be enabled when vSphere HA is disabled.The following table shows the differences in vSphere HA networking when Virtual SAN is used or not.178 VMware, Inc.