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

vSphere StorageFigure 22‐1. VMkernel and Storagevirtual machineguest OSvirtual machineguest OSSCSI HBA emulationSCSI HBA emulationrawdiskphysicalcompatibilitymode RDMvirtual modeRDMSCSI command emulationregularVMDKVMkernelsnapshotfile system switchNFSVMFSconfigurationdiskblock devicesLVMlogical device I/O schedulerStorage APIsstatisticsscanningStorage API for array integrationStorage API for multipathing (pluggable storagearchitecture)adapter I/O schedulerLinux emulationFC driverFCoE driveriSCSI driveriSCSI driverblock iSCSI driveriSCSI IDE driverStorage APIsStorage APIs is a family of APIs used by third-party hardware, software, and storage providers to developcomponents that enhance several vSphere features and solutions.This publication describes the following sets of Storage APIs and explains how they contribute to yourstorage environment. For information about other APIs from this family, including Storage API - DataProtection and Storage API - Site Recovery Manager, see the VMware Web site.• Storage APIs - Multipathing, also known as the Pluggable Storage Architecture (PSA). PSA is acollection of VMkernel APIs that allows storage partners to enable and certify their arraysasynchronous to ESXi release schedules, as well as deliver performance-enhancing, multipathing andload-balancing behaviors that are optimized for each array. For more information, see “ManagingMultiple Paths,” on page 220.• Storage APIs - Array Integration, formerly known as VAAI, include the following APIs:• Hardware Acceleration APIs. Allows arrays to integrate with vSphere to transparently offloadcertain storage operations to the array. This integration significantly reduces CPU overhead on thehost. See Chapter 24, “Storage Hardware Acceleration,” on page 235.212 VMware, Inc.