VMware Implementation with IBM System Storage DS5000

VMware Implementation with IBM System Storage DS5000

by Sangam Racherla, Diego Silva Cogo, Mario David Ganem, Hartmut Lonzer, Minja Obradovic, Gabriel Requejo
Released June 2013
Publisher(s): IBM Redbooks
ISBN: None

Read it now on the O’Reilly learning platform with a 10-day free trial.

O’Reilly members get unlimited access to books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Start your free trial

Book description

In this IBM® Redbooks® publication, we compiled best practices for planning, designing, implementing, and maintaining IBM Midrange Storage Solutions. In this publication, we use IBM System Storage® DS5000 storage subsystem for the implementation procedures, and the same procedures can be used for implementations with DCS3700 or DS3500 storage subsystems. We also compiled configurations for a VMware ESX and VMware ESXi Server host environment.

Setting up an IBM Midrange Storage Subsystem is a challenging task. Our principal objective in this book is to provide you with a sufficient overview to effectively enable storage area network (SAN) storage and VMware. There is no single configuration that is satisfactory for every application or situation. However, the effectiveness of the VMware implementation is enabled by careful planning and consideration. Although the compilation of this publication is derived from an actual setup and verification, we did not stress test or test for all possible use cases that are used in a limited configuration assessment.

Because of the highly customizable nature of a VMware ESXi host environment, you must consider your specific environment and equipment to achieve optimal performance from an IBM Midrange Storage Subsystem. When you are weighing the recommendations in this publication, you must start with the first principles of input/output (I/O) performance tuning. Each environment is unique and the correct settings that are used depend on the specific goals, configurations, and demands for the specific environment.

This publication is intended for technical professionals who want to deploy VMware ESXi and VMware ESX Servers with IBM Midrange Storage Subsystems.

Table of contents

  1. Front cover
  2. Notices
    1. Trademarks
  3. Preface
    1. Authors
    2. Now you can become a published author, too!
    3. Comments welcome
    4. Stay connected to IBM Redbooks
  4. Part 1 Planning
  5. Chapter 1. Introduction of IBM VMware Midrange Storage Solutions
    1. 1.1 Overview of IBM VMware Midrange Storage Solutions
    2. 1.2 IBM VMware storage solutions
      1. 1.2.1 VMware vSphere ESXi architecture
      2. 1.2.2 Overview of using VMware vSphere with SAN
      3. 1.2.3 Benefits of using VMware vSphere with SAN
      4. 1.2.4 VMware vSphere and SAN use cases
    3. 1.3 Overview of VMware vStorage APIs for Data Protection
    4. 1.4 Overview of VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager (SRM)
  6. Chapter 2. Security design of the VMware vSphere Infrastructure architecture
    1. 2.1 Introduction to VMware vSphere Infrastructure
    2. 2.2 Virtualization layer
      1. 2.2.1 Local support consoles
    3. 2.3 CPU virtualization
    4. 2.4 Memory virtualization
    5. 2.5 Virtual machines
    6. 2.6 Virtual networking layer
      1. 2.6.1 Virtual standard switches (VSS)
      2. 2.6.2 Virtual Distributed Switches (VDS)
      3. 2.6.3 Virtual switch VLANs
      4. 2.6.4 Virtual ports
      5. 2.6.5 Virtual network adapters
      6. 2.6.6 Virtual switch isolation
      7. 2.6.7 Virtual switch correctness
    7. 2.7 Virtualized storage
    8. 2.8 SAN security
    9. 2.9 VMware vSphere vCenter Server
  7. Chapter 3. Planning the VMware vSphere storage system design
    1. 3.1 VMware vSphere ESXi Server storage structure: Disk virtualization
      1. 3.1.1 Local storage
      2. 3.1.2 Networked storage
      3. 3.1.3 SAN disk usage
      4. 3.1.4 Disk virtualization with VMFS volumes and .vmdk files
      5. 3.1.5 VMFS access mode: Public mode
      6. 3.1.6 vSphere Server .vmdk modes
      7. 3.1.7 Specifics of using SAN arrays with vSphere ESXi Server
      8. 3.1.8 Host types
      9. 3.1.9 Levels of indirection
    2. 3.2 Choosing the IBM Midrange Storage Subsystem for a VMware implementation
    3. 3.3 Overview of IBM Midrange Storage Systems
      1. 3.3.1 Positioning the IBM Midrange Storage Systems
    4. 3.4 Storage subsystem considerations
      1. 3.4.1 Segment size
      2. 3.4.2 Midrange Storage Systems cache features
      3. 3.4.3 Enabling cache settings
      4. 3.4.4 Aligning file system partitions
      5. 3.4.5 Premium features
      6. 3.4.6 Considering individual virtual machines
      7. 3.4.7 Determining the best RAID level for logical drives and arrays
      8. 3.4.8 Server consolidation considerations
      9. 3.4.9 VMware ESX Server storage configurations
      10. 3.4.10 Configurations by function
      11. 3.4.11 Zoning
  8. Chapter 4. Planning the VMware vSphere Server design
    1. 4.1 Considering the VMware vSphere Server platform
      1. 4.1.1 Minimum server requirements
      2. 4.1.2 Maximum physical machine specifications
      3. 4.1.3 Recommendations for enhanced performance
      4. 4.1.4 Considering the server hardware architecture
      5. 4.1.5 General performance and sizing considerations
    2. 4.2 Operating system considerations
      1. 4.2.1 Buffering the I/O
      2. 4.2.2 Aligning host I/O with RAID striping
      3. 4.2.3 Recommendations for host bus adapter settings
      4. 4.2.4 Recommendations for Fibre Channel switch settings
      5. 4.2.5 Using Command Tag Queuing
      6. 4.2.6 Analyzing I/O characteristics
      7. 4.2.7 Using VMFS for spanning across multiple LUNs
      8. 4.2.8 Using the VAAI plug-in
  9. Part 2 Configuration
  10. Chapter 5. VMware ESXi Server and storage configuration
    1. 5.1 Storage configuration
      1. 5.1.1 Notes about mapping LUNs to a storage partition
      2. 5.1.2 Steps for verifying the storage configuration for VMware
    2. 5.2 Installing the VMware ESX Server
      1. 5.2.1 Prerequisites
      2. 5.2.2 Configuring the hardware
      3. 5.2.3 Configuring the software on the VMware ESX Server host
      4. 5.2.4 Connecting to the VMware ESXi Server
      5. 5.2.5 Creating additional virtual switches for guests’ connectivity
      6. 5.2.6 Connecting to SAN storage by using iSCSI
      7. 5.2.7 Configuring VMware ESXi Server Storage
      8. 5.2.8 Verifying the multipathing policy for Fibre Channel LUNs
      9. 5.2.9 Creating virtual machines
      10. 5.2.10 Additional VMware ESX Server Storage configuration
  11. Chapter 6. VMware command-line tools for configuring vSphere ESXi storage
    1. 6.1 Introduction to command-line tools
      1. 6.1.1 Enabling ESXi Shell from DCUI
      2. 6.1.2 Enabling ESXi Shell with the vSphere Client
      3. 6.1.3 Running ESXi Shell commands
      4. 6.1.4 Saving time running ESXi Shell commands
    2. 6.2 Connecting to SAN storage by using iSCSI
      1. 6.2.1 Activating the software iSCSI adapter
      2. 6.2.2 Configuring networking for iSCSI
      3. 6.2.3 Configuring iSCSI discovery addresses
      4. 6.2.4 Enabling security (CHAP)
    3. 6.3 Connecting to SAN storage by using Fibre Channel (FC)
    4. 6.4 Managing multipath policies
    5. 6.5 Matching DS logical drives with VMware vSphere ESXi devices
  12. Chapter 7. IBM System Storage Plug-In for VMware vCenter
    1. 7.1 Overview
    2. 7.2 Download
    3. 7.3 vCenter plug-in installation
      1. 7.3.1 Prerequisites
      2. 7.3.2 Installing the vCenter plug-in
    4. 7.4 Configuring the vCenter plug-in
    5. 7.5 Using the vCenter plug-in
  13. Chapter 8. VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM5) implementation
    1. 8.1 Planning for the installation
      1. 8.1.1 Basic solution components and layout
      2. 8.1.2 SRM prerequisites
      3. 8.1.3 System requirements
      4. 8.1.4 Database requirements
      5. 8.1.5 Storage requirements
    2. 8.2 Installing Site Recovery Manager 5 (SRM)
      1. 8.2.1 Installation procedure
      2. 8.2.2 Installing the VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager Extension
      3. 8.2.3 Pairing sites
    3. 8.3 Storage Replication Adapters (SRAs)
      1. 8.3.1 Downloading SRAs
      2. 8.3.2 Installing SRAs
      3. 8.3.3 Configuring SRAs
      4. 8.3.4 Adding the array manager
    4. 8.4 Configuring Site Recovery Manager 5 (SRM)
      1. 8.4.1 Configuring mappings
      2. 8.4.2 Configuring placeholder datastores
      3. 8.4.3 Configuring a protection group
      4. 8.4.4 Planning recovering plans
  14. Chapter 9. VMware vSphere ESXi 5 advanced configuration and new features
    1. 9.1 vSphere VMFS-5
      1. 9.1.1 VMFS-5 enhancements
      2. 9.1.2 VMFS-5 considerations
      3. 9.1.3 Creating a VMFS-5 datastore step-by-step
      4. 9.1.4 Prerequisites to upgrade a datastore to VMFS-5
      5. 9.1.5 Upgrading a datastore to VMFS-5 step-by-step
    2. 9.2 Profile Driven Storage (storage profiles)
      1. 9.2.1 Profile Driven Storage benefits
      2. 9.2.2 Storage capabilities
      3. 9.2.3 Working with Profile Driven Storage
    3. 9.3 vSphere Storage vMotion (Storage vMotion)
      1. 9.3.1 Storage vMotion enhancements
      2. 9.3.2 Storage vMotion considerations
      3. 9.3.3 Storage vMotion requirements
      4. 9.3.4 Using Storage vMotion step-by-step
    4. 9.4 vSphere Storage Distributed Resource Scheduler (Storage DRS)
      1. 9.4.1 Storage DRS features
    5. 9.5 vSphere Storage I/O Control
      1. 9.5.1 vSphere Storage I/O Control features
  15. Appendix A. VMware ESXi Fibre Channel configuration checklist
    1. Hardware, cabling, and zoning best practices
    2. DS5000 settings
    3. VMware ESXi Server settings
    4. Restrictions
  16. Related publications
    1. IBM Redbooks
    2. Online resources
    3. Help from IBM
  17. Back cover

Product information

  • Title: VMware Implementation with IBM System Storage DS5000
  • Author(s): Sangam Racherla, Diego Silva Cogo, Mario David Ganem, Hartmut Lonzer, Minja Obradovic, Gabriel Requejo
  • Release date: June 2013
  • Publisher(s): IBM Redbooks
  • ISBN: None