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

Best Practices for Fibre ChannelStorage 9When using ESXi with Fibre Channel SAN, follow best practices that VMware offers to avoid performanceproblems.The vSphere Web Client offer extensive facilities for collecting performance information. The information isgraphically displayed and frequently updated.You can also use the resxtop or esxtop command-line utilities. The utilities provide a detailed look at howESXi uses resources in real time. For more information, see the vSphere Resource Management documentation.Check with your storage representative if your storage system supports Storage API - Array Integrationhardware acceleration features. If it does, refer to your vendor documentation for information on how toenable hardware acceleration support on the storage system side. For more information, see Chapter 24,“Storage Hardware Acceleration,” on page 235.This chapter includes the following topics:• “Preventing Fibre Channel SAN Problems,” on page 65• “Disable Automatic Host Registration in the vSphere Web Client,” on page 66• “Optimizing Fibre Channel SAN Storage Performance,” on page 66• “Fibre Channel SAN Configuration Checklist,” on page 67Preventing Fibre Channel SAN ProblemsWhen using ESXi in conjunction with a Fibre Channel SAN, you must follow specific guidelines to avoidSAN problems.You should observe these tips for preventing problems with your SAN configuration:• Place only one VMFS datastore on each LUN.• Do not change the path policy the system sets for you unless you understand the implications ofmaking such a change.• Document everything. Include information about zoning, access control, storage, switch, server and FCHBA configuration, software and firmware versions, and storage cable plan.• Plan for failure:• Make several copies of your topology maps. For each element, consider what happens to your SANif the element fails.• Cross off different links, switches, HBAs and other elements to ensure you did not miss a criticalfailure point in your design.• Ensure that the Fibre Channel HBAs are installed in the correct slots in the host, based on slot and busspeed. Balance PCI bus load among the available busses in the server.VMware, Inc. 65