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

Chapter 1 Introduction to Storage4 Use the icons to create a datastore or to perform basic tasks for a selected datastore.IconDescriptionCreate a datastore.Increase datastore capacity.Mount a datastore to certain hosts.Remove a datastore.Unmount a datastore from certain hosts.5 Use tabs to access additional information and modify datastore properties.TabGetting StartedSummaryMonitorManageRelated ObjectsDescriptionView introductory information and access basic actions.View statistics and configuration for the selected datastore.View alarms, performance data, resource allocation, events, and other status information for thedatastore.View and modify datastore properties, alarm definitions, tags, and permissions. Use this tab toaccess storage devices that back the datastore, and to view and edit multipathing details for thedatastore devices.View objects related to the datastore. The objects include virtual machines that reside on thedatastore and hosts where the datastore is mounted.How Virtual Machines Access StorageWhen a virtual machine communicates with its virtual disk stored on a datastore, it issues SCSI commands.Because datastores can exist on various types of physical storage, these commands are encapsulated intoother forms, depending on the protocol that the ESXi host uses to connect to a storage device.ESXi supports Fibre Channel (FC), Internet SCSI (iSCSI), Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), and NFSprotocols. Regardless of the type of storage device your host uses, the virtual disk always appears to thevirtual machine as a mounted SCSI device. The virtual disk hides a physical storage layer from the virtualmachine’s operating system. This allows you to run operating systems that are not certified for specificstorage equipment, such as SAN, inside the virtual machine.The following graphic depicts five virtual machines using different types of storage to illustrate thedifferences between each type.VMware, Inc. 23