ONTAP tools for VMware vSphere 10 Manuals ( CA08871-301 )
Create a datastore
When you create a datastore at the host cluster level, the datastore is created and mounted on all the hosts of the destination, and the action is enabled only if the current user has the privilege to execute.
Beginning with ONTAP tools for VMware vSphere 10.3, you can create a vVols datastore on ASA r2 series with space-efficiency as thin.vVol. The VASA Provider creates a container and the desired protocol endpoints while creating the vVol datastore. This container will not have any backing volumes.
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Ensure that root aggregates are not mapped to SVM.
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Ensure that the VASA Provider is registered with the selected vCenter.
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In the ASA r2 series, SVM should be mapped to aggregate for SVM user.
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Log in to the vSphere client.
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Right-click a host system, host cluster, or data center and select ONTAP tools > Create Datastore.
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Select vVols Datastore type.
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Enter the Datastore name and Protocol information.
The ASA r2 series supports the iSCSI and FC protocols for vVols. -
Select the storage VM where you want to create the datastore.
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Select a custom export policy for the NFS protocol or a custom initiator group name for the iSCSI and FC protocols in the Advanced options.
In ASA r2 series type SVM, storage units (LUN/namespace) are not created as the datastore is only a logical container. -
Select the storage VM where you want to create the datastore.
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Select a custom export policy for the NFS protocol or a custom initiator group name for the iSCSI and FC protocols in the Advanced options.
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In the Storage attributes pane, you can create new volumes or use the existing volumes. However, you cannot combine these two types of volumes to create a vVols datastore.
When creating a new volume, you can enable QoS on the datastore. By default, one volume is created for every LUN-created request. This step is not applicable for vVols datastores using the ASA r2 series.
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Review your selection in the Summary pane and select Finish.
A VMware Network File System (NFS) datastore uses the NFS protocol to connect ESXi hosts to a shared storage device over a network. NFS datastores are commonly used in VMware vSphere environments and offer several advantages, such as simplicity and flexibility.
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Log in to the vSphere client.
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Right-click a host system, host cluster, or data center and select ONTAP tools > Create datastore.
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Select NFS in the Datastore type field.
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Enter the datastore name, size, and protocol information in the Name and protocol pane. Select Datastore cluster and Kerberos authentication in the advanced options.
Kerberos authentication is available only when the NFS 4.1 protocol is selected. -
Select Platform and Storage VM in the Storage pane.
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Choose Custom export policy under advanced options if necessary, but it’s not recommended. If used, ensure you run discovery in vCenter for all objects.
You cannot create an NFS datastore using the SVM’s default/root volume policy. -
In the advanced options, the Asymmetric toggle button is visible only if performance or capacity is selected in the platform drop-down.
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When you choose the Any option in the platform dropdown, you can see the SVMs that are part of the vCenter irrespective of the platform or asymmetric flag.
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Select the aggregate for volume creation in the Storage Attributes pane. In the advanced options, choose Space Reserve and Enable QoS as required.
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Review the selections in the Summary pane and select Finish.
The NFS datastore is created and mounted on all the hosts.
Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) is a clustered file system that stores virtual machine files in VMware vSphere environments. VMFS allows multiple ESXi hosts to access the same virtual machine files concurrently, enabling features like vMotion and High Availability.
On a protected cluster:
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You can create only a VMFS datastores. When you add a VMFS datastore to a protected cluster, the datastore becomes protected automatically.
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You cannot create a datastore on a data center with one or more protected host clusters.
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You cannot create a datastore at the ESXi host if the parent host cluster is protected with a relationship of "Automated Failover Duplex policy" type (uniform/non-uniform config).
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You can create a VMFS datastore only on an ESXi host protected by an asynchronous relationship. You cannot create and mount a datastore on an ESXi host that is part of a host cluster protected by the "Automated Failover Duplex" policy.
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Enable services and LIFs for each protocol on the ONTAP storage side.
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Map SVM to aggregate for SVM user in the ASA r2 series.
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Configure the ESXi host if you’re using the NVMe/TCP protocol:
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Review the VMware Compatibility Guide
VMware vSphere 7.0 U3 and later versions support the NVMe/TCP protocol. However, VMware vSphere 8.0 and later versions are recommended. -
Validate whether the Network Interface Card (NIC) vendor supports ESXi NIC with the NVMe/TCP protocol.
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Configure the ESXi NIC for NVMe/TCP according to the NIC vendor specifications.
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When using VMware vSphere 7 release, follow the instructions on the VMware site Configure VMkernel Binding for the NVMe over TCP Adapter to configure NVMe/TCP port binding. When using VMware vSphere 8 release, follow Configuring NVMe over TCP on ESXi, to configure the NVMe/TCP port binding.
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For VMware vSphere 7 release, follow the instructions on page Enable NVMe over RDMA or NVMe over TCP Software Adapters to configure NVMe/TCP software adapters. For the VMware vSphere 8 release, follow Add Software NVMe over RDMA or NVMe over TCP Adapters to configure the NVMe/TCP software adapters.
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Run Discover storage systems and hosts action on the ESXi host.
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If you are using the NVME/FC protocol, perform the following steps to configure the ESXi host:
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If not already enabled, enable NVMe over Fabrics(NVMe-oF) on your ESXi host(s).
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Complete SCSI zoning.
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Ensure that ESXi hosts and the ONTAP system are connected at a physical and logical layer.
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To configure an ONTAP SVM for FC protocol, refer to Configure an SVM for FC.
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Log in to the vSphere client.
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Right-click a host system, host cluster, or data center and select ONTAP tools > Create Datastore.
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Select VMFS datastore type.
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Enter the datastore name, size, and protocol information in the Name and Protocol pane. If you choose to add the new datastore to an existing VMFS datastore cluster, select the datastore cluster selector under Advanced Options.
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Select storage VM in the Storage pane. Provide the Custom initiator group name in the Advanced options section as required. You can choose an existing igroup for the datastore or create a new igroup with a custom name.
When NVMe/FC or NVMe/TCP protocol is selected, a new namespace subsystem is created and is used for namespace mapping. The namespace subsystem is created using the auto-generated name that includes the datastore name. You can rename the namespace subsystem in the custom namespace subsystem name field in the advanced options of the Storage pane.
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From the storage attributes pane:
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Select Aggregate from the drop-down options.
For ASA r2 series, the Aggregate option is not shown as the ASA r2 series is a disaggregated series. When you choose an ASA r2 series type SVM, the series attributes page shows the options for enabling QoS. -
As per the selected protocol, a storage unit(LUN/Namespace) is created with a space reserve of type thin.
Beginning in ONTAP 9.16.1, ASA r2 series support up to 12 nodes per cluster. -
Select the Performance service level for ASA r2 series with 12 nodes SVM that is a heterogeneous cluster. This option is unavailable if the selected SVM is a homogeneous cluster or uses an SVM user.
'Any' is the default performance service level (PSL) value. This setting creates the storage unit using the ONTAP balanced placement algorithm. However, you can select the performance or extreme option as required.
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Select Use existing volume, Enable QoS options as required, and provide the details.
In the ASA r2 series type, volume creation or selection does not apply to storage unit creation(LUN/Namespace). Therefore, these options are not shown. You cannot use the existing volume to create a VMFS datastore with NVMe/FC or NVMe/TCP protocol; you should create a new volume.
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Review the datastore details in the Summary pane and select Finish.
| If you create the datastore on a protected cluster, you can see a read-only message: "The datastore is being mounted on a protected Cluster." |
The VMFS datastore is created and mounted on all the hosts.
