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

vSphere StorageBoot from SANDirect connectClusteringThe host boots from a LUN configured on the SAN rather than from theserver itself.The server connects to the array without using switches. For all other tests, afabric connection is used. FC Arbitrated Loop (AL) is not supported.The system is tested with Microsoft Cluster Service running in the virtualmachine.General Setup Considerations for Fibre Channel SAN ArraysWhen you prepare your FC SAN storage to work with ESXi, you must follow specific general requirementsthat apply to all storage arrays.For all storage arrays, make sure that the following requirements are met:• LUNs must be presented to each HBA of each host with the same LUN ID number.Because instructions on how to configure identical SAN LUN IDs are vendor specific, consult yourstorage array documentation for more information.• Unless specified for individual storage arrays, set the host type for LUNs presented to ESXi to Linux,Linux Cluster, or, if available, to vmware or esx.• If you are using vMotion, DRS, or HA, make sure that both source and target hosts for virtual machinescan see the same LUNs with identical LUN IDs.SAN administrators might find it counterintuitive to have multiple hosts see the same LUNs becausethey might be concerned about data corruption. However, VMFS prevents multiple virtual machinesfrom writing to the same file at the same time, so provisioning the LUNs to all required ESXi system isappropriate.EMC CLARiiON Storage Systems in Fibre Channel SANConfigurationsEMC CLARiiON storage systems work with ESXi hosts in SAN configurations.Basic configuration includes the following steps:1 Installing and configuring the storage device.2 Configuring zoning at the switch level.3 Creating RAID groups.4 Creating and binding LUNs.5 Registering the servers connected to the SAN. By default, the host automatically performs this step.6 Creating storage groups that contain the servers and LUNs.Use the EMC storage management software to perform configuration. For information, see the EMCdocumentation.ESXi automatically sends the host's name and IP address to the array and registers the host with the array.You are no longer required to perform host registration manually. However, if you prefer to use storagemanagement software, such as EMC Navisphere, to perform manual registration, turn off the ESXi autoregistration.Turning it off helps you avoid overwriting the manual user registration. For information, see“Disable Automatic Host Registration in the vSphere Web Client,” on page 66.50 VMware, Inc.