Formatting Virtual Disks - Dell PowerVault MD3060e Installation And Configuration Manual

Figure 32. Create Disk Group Dialog

Formatting Virtual Disks

Before you format virtual disks with VMFS datastores, you must plan how to set up storage for the ESX/ESXi
systems, including deciding on the number and size of virtual disks to use.
NOTE: For more information about making virtual disk decisions, including predictive schemes, adaptive
schemes and disk shares, refer to the iSCSI SAN Configuration Guide: Using ESX/ESXi with an iSCSI
Storage Area Network: Making LUN Decisions in the VMware vSphere Online Library.
When you are deciding how to format virtual disks, keep the following considerations in mind:
−
Ensure that each virtual disk has the correct RAID level and storage characteristics for applications in
the virtual machines using that virtual disk.
−
Ensure that each virtual disk contains only one VMFS datastore.
−
When multiple virtual machines access the same VMFS datastore, use disk shares to prioritize virtual machines.
Fewer, larger virtual disks are appropriate for the following reasons:
−
Provide more flexibility to create virtual machines without increasing space.
−
Provide more flexibility for resizing virtual disks and performing snapshots.
−
Result in fewer VMFS datastores to manage.
More, smaller virtual disks are appropriate for the following reasons:
−
Less wasted storage space.
−
Different applications might require different RAID characteristics.
−
Provide more flexibility, since the multi-pathing policy and disk shares are set per virtual disk.
−
Microsoft Cluster Service requires that each cluster disk resource is in its own virtual disk.
−
Offer better performance because there is less contention for a single virtual disk.
Dell MD Storage Array vCenter Plug-in | 42