Dell PowerVault MD3860i User Manual

Dell MD Storage Array VMware vStorage APIs For Storage Awareness (VASA) Provider

User's Guide

Regulatory Model: E16S Series Regulatory Type: E16S001

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NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your computer.

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Contents

1 Overview.......................................................................................................................................5

VASA Storage Capabilities....................................................................................................................................... 6

Profile-Driven And Policy-Based Storage................................................................................................................ 8

Storage Service-Level Agreements...................................................................................................................8

Storage Distributed Resource Scheduler.................................................................................................................8

VASA Session Communications............................................................................................................................... 8

2 Installing The VASA Provider....................................................................................................9

Before You Install..................................................................................................................................................... 9

Supported Operating Systems And Platforms................................................................................................... 9

Supported Host Operating Systems...................................................................................................................9

Required VMware Application Platforms.......................................................................................................... 9

Supported MD Series Storage Arrays............................................................................................................... 9

Required RAID Controller Module Firmware....................................................................................................10

Downloading The VASA Provider...........................................................................................................................10

Installing The VASA Provider................................................................................................................................. 10

Uninstalling The VASA Provider............................................................................................................................. 10

3 Using The VASA Provider........................................................................................................ 11

Bringing Storage Arrays Under VASA Management............................................................................................. 12

Adding Your Storage Arrays To VASA Control.................................................................................................12

To Register The VASA Provider In Your vSphere Client.................................................................................. 13

Verifying VASA Registration.............................................................................................................................15

Working with Storage Profiles................................................................................................................................16

Assigning VM Storage Profiles To Existing Virtual Machines......................................................................... 17

Checking Storage Profile Compliance............................................................................................................. 18

Storage Array Events And Alerts............................................................................................................................19

Troubleshooting Tips.............................................................................................................................................. 19

Troubleshooting Logs.......................................................................................................................................20

Configuration Reset..........................................................................................................................................20

4 Getting Help................................................................................................................................21

Locating Your System Service Tag.........................................................................................................................21

Contacting Dell....................................................................................................................................................... 21

Documentation Feedback.......................................................................................................................................21

Overview

VMware vStorage APIs for Storage Awareness (VASA) is a set of application program interfaces (APIs) that support Dell PowerVault MD-Series iSCSI and Fibre Channel storage arrays. VASA enables vSphere vCenter to recognize MD storage array features and corresponding datastores, which allows storage administrators to more easily set virtualization and maintenance policies.

Using the VASA provider on an MD storage array also allows a vCenter-based storage administrator to:

• See information about MD-attached expansion storage.

• Discover and characterize an attached datastore’s static capabilities, which helps in selecting the appropriate disk for virtual machine (VM) placement.

• Receive alert and event notifications from the MD storage arrays managed in vCenter.

The following figure shows the high-level VASA provider architecture and how it integrates with the vCenter management environment.

Figure 1. VASA Provider in a vCenter Storage Management Architecture

VASA Storage Capabilities

Storage provisioning operations available in vSphere allow VASA to monitor whether a storage array's physical components can meet virtual machine needs according to defined capabilities. Available capabilities and their common performance ranges are shown in table below.

Table 1. Available VASA Storage Capabilities

Storage Capabilities Common Use/Performance Range

SSD Drives

Storage Type Virtual disks comprised of solid-state physical disks

Storage Capabilities Common Use/Performance Range

SSD Drives-Thin

10K/15K Drives

10K/15K Drives-Thin

NLSAS Drives

Performance Level

Storage Type Thin-provisioned virtual disks comprised of solid-state physical

Performance Level

Storage Type Virtual disks comprised of high-performance physical disks

Performance Level

Storage Type Thin-provisioned virtual disks comprised of high-performance

Performance Level

Storage Type Virtual disks comprised of Near-Line SAS (NL-SAS) physical disks

Performance Level

Highest available

disks

Highest available

High (used in most standard environments)

physical disks

High (used in most standard environments)

10K RPM or less

Intermediate performance, good for bulk storage needs

NLSAS Drives-Thin

Replicated SSD Drives

Replicated 10K/15K Drives

Replicated NLSAS Drives

Steps for assigning these capabilities in vSphere are detailed in

Storage Type Thin-provisioned virtual disks comprised of Near-Line SAS (NL-

SAS) physical disks 10K RPM or less

Performance Level

Storage Type Virtual disks comprised of solid-state physical disks

Performance Level

Storage Type Virtual disks comprised of high-performance physical disks

Performance Level

Storage Type Replicated virtual disks comprised of Near-Line SAS (NL-SAS)

Performance Level

Intermediate performance, good for bulk storage needs

Highest available for replicated virtual disks

High (used in most standard replicated environments)

physical disks 10K RPM or less

Intermediate performance, good for bulk storage needs

Using the VASA Provider

later in this guide.

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