NetApp and VMware vSphere Storage Best Practices
NetApp and VMware vSphere Storage Best Practices
NetApp and VMware vSphere Storage Best Practices
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8 FC AND FCOE STORAGE NETWORKING BEST PRACTICES<br />
Fibre Channel storage networks make up the largest percentage of shared storage infrastructures host ESX.<br />
This market share is attributed to FC being the first networked attached storage protocol supported by ESX<br />
in version 2.0. While FC is a well-known <strong>and</strong> mature technology this section will cover best practices for<br />
deploying <strong>VMware</strong> on Fibre Channel with <strong>NetApp</strong> storage arrays.<br />
8.1 HOST BUS AND CONVERGED NETWORK ADAPTERS<br />
ESX servers <strong>and</strong> <strong>NetApp</strong> storage arrays connect to a SAN fabric using host bus adapters (HBAs).<br />
Connectivity to FCoE fabrics is enabled through converged network adapters (CNAs). Each HBA/CNA can<br />
run as either an initiator (ESX) or as a target (<strong>NetApp</strong>). Each adapter has a global unique address referred<br />
to as a World Wide Port Number (WWPN). Each WWPN is required to be known in order to configure LUN<br />
access on a <strong>NetApp</strong> storage array.<br />
Both <strong>NetApp</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>VMware</strong> highly recommend that as a best practice each ESX server should have at least<br />
two adapter ports. For more information on <strong>VMware</strong> FC best practices <strong>and</strong> recommendations, see <strong>VMware</strong><br />
Fibre Channel SAN Configuration Guide.<br />
8.2 NETAPP IGROUPS (LUN MASKING)<br />
LUN (Logical Unit Number) Masking is an authorization process that makes a LUN available to a host or set<br />
of hosts in a cluster. On a <strong>NetApp</strong> array LUN Masking is implemented by assigning HBA addresses to<br />
initiator groups (igroups). Once an igroup has been defined then LUNs can be assigned the igroup for<br />
access to the LUN.<br />
Implementation best practices for LUN masking is covered in the storage provisioning section for FC, FCoE,<br />
<strong>and</strong> iSCSI.<br />
8.3 FC AND FCOE ZONING<br />
Many devices <strong>and</strong> nodes can be attached to a SAN, <strong>and</strong> a way to secure access to these devices is by<br />
implementing Zones. SAN zoning is a method of arranging Fibre Channel devices into logical groups over<br />
the physical configuration of the fabric or Fibre Channel network.<br />
Zoning is available in hardware (hard zoning) or in software (soft zoning). An option available with both<br />
implementations is Port Zoning, where physical ports define security zones. A host’s access to a LUN is<br />
determined what physical port connects it to. With port zoning, zone information must be updated every time<br />
a user changes switch ports. In addition, port zoning does not allow zones to overlap.<br />
Another form of zoning is WWN zoning, where the fabric leverages its name servers to either allow or block<br />
access to particular World Wide Names (WWNs) in the fabric. A major advantage of WWN zoning is the<br />
ability to recable the fabric without having to redo the zone information.<br />
ZONING RECOMMENDATION<br />
<strong>NetApp</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>VMware</strong> highly recommend customer implement single initiator multiple storage target zones.<br />
This design offers an ideal balance of simplicity <strong>and</strong> availability with FC <strong>and</strong> FCoE deployments.<br />
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