Creating a VMFS datastore

Use the IBM Storage Ceph Plugin for vSphere to automate the creation of vSphere Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) datastores.

Before you begin

Identify the vSphere cluster for which you want to create one or more new VMFS datastores.

About this task

This workflow initially evaluates storage connectivity to help ensure all hosts in the selected vSphere cluster have sufficient access to the storage system.

An alert is displayed in any of the following conditions:

If any hosts in the selected vSphere cluster are deemed not to be correctly defined on the storage system.
If conditions exist that prevent the host status from being reported as online by the underlying storage system.

Host connectivity depends on if the host NQN of the particular ESXi has been added to the host list of the NVMe-oF subsystem. Where possible, consider using host clusters to simplify management and storage provisioning for clustered host environments.

When creating a volume:

The name that is specified in the workflow is used both when creating the volumes on the storage system and for the related VMFS datastores.
The specified capacity defines the size of the volume that is created in the storage system. A small area of the volume is allocated to the VMFS partition and so the available capacity for the VMFS datastore can differ from the underlying volume's capacity.

The appropriate host volume mappings are created for all members of the vSphere cluster.

Finally, a VMFS datastore is created from each volume, and the storage adapters for each vSphere cluster member is rescanned to correctly mount each new datastore.

Note: Version VMFS6 is automatically used for all datastores created by the plug-in. In accordance with best practices, a single volume is created for each VMFS datastore requested.

Procedure

Create a datastore from the IBM® Storage plug-in submenu, select Create VMFS Datastore.

From the vSphere Client, select the vSphere Cluster that requires new VMFS datastores, and click Actions > IBM Storage.
From the IBM Storage plug-in submenu, select Create VMFS Datastore.
The Create VMFS Datastore wizard opens.
From the Datastore Name and Size step of the wizard.
The datastore version is automatically populated.
1. Define a Name for the new VMFS datastore.
  The same name is used when creating the volume on the storage system.
2. Specify the required Size.
  Size is specified in either TB or GB.
3. Specify the required number of VMFS datastores to be created.
  If more than 1 datastore is being created, specify the starting index and delimiter.
  Use the starting index value to continue an existing naming convention for datastores that are already in use.
  Note: Although up to 256 datastores can be created at once, it is recommended to create datastores in smaller batches of 10 or fewer to help ensure that all datastores are created successfully. If larger batches of datastores are created in a single creation instance, be sure to manually verify that the request completed successfully from the task panel. If the task panel does not update as expected, manual clean up may be required for unmapped volumes.
4. Click NEXT.
From the Storage System Selection step, select the storage system for which the datastore will be created on and click Next.

Note: It can take a few moments while all ESXi hosts in the VMware cluster are cross-referenced with host objects and assigned ports. Depending on the number of hosts in the vSphere cluster, the cross-referencing can take up to 1 minute. Any discrepancies that might exist between the host objects or port assignments are indicated. A hyperlink to the management interface for the selected storage system is available for direct access to the element manager.
From the Host Connectivity step, check that at least one host is online, and click Next to continue.
The Host Connectivity step evaluates connectivity for all hosts in the vSphere cluster. Any hosts that are not correctly configured will be highlighted. When creating HA datastores, site parameters are displayed.
From the Pool Selection step, select the pool to create the volume in, and click Next to continue.

Note: You cannot select pools that are not in an online state, or ones that are in different ownership groups to the registered user.
From the Review step, review the summary and click Create.
Ensure that the correct pool name is associated with the storage system.

A progress bar appears within the view and vSphere tasks are generated for each step in the workflow.

What to do next

Monitor the Recent Tasks view in vSphere to confirm the task is completed successfully.

After all tasks are successfully completed, the VMFS datastores created are available for use.