VMware Datastores: Understanding the Different Types and Connection Protocols
As a VMware administrator, you must be familiar with the different types of datastores available in vSphere. In this blog post, we will explore the four main types of datastores in VMware – VMFS, NFS, vSAN, and vSphere Virtual Volumes (vVols) – and the connection protocols they use.
1. VMFS (Virtual Machine File System)
VMFS is a storage virtualization clustering file system that is optimized to store virtual machine files. It supports different connection types such as Fibre Channel (FC), Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), and iSCSI. Direct-attached disks do not support shared datastores, but FC, FCoE, and iSCSI can be used to map LUNs to multiple ESXi servers and create shared datastores.
2. NFS (Network File System)
NFS is a file-based protocol that provides a shared folder over the network that client devices can access. It is a distributed file system where a folder is shared with multiple users, and all can access the same files. Unlike VMFS, NFS cannot be formatted, and it is not optimized for virtual machine storage.
3. vSAN (Software-Defined Storage)
vSAN is a software-defined storage solution that eliminates the need to use physical storage appliances (SAN). It uses the local hard drives on each server (direct-attached) and aggregates the disks into one logical datastore pool, giving you the same capabilities as physical SAN storage with extra features.
4. vSphere Virtual Volumes (vVols)
vSphere Virtual Volumes provides the capability to use FC and Ethernet to connect to NAS (Network Attached Storage) and SAN (Storage Area Network) storage arrays. To use vVols, you need to create a different set of policies that are used by VMs such as:
* Create a new virtual disk
* Create a new virtual machine
* Update the virtual machine settings
Now, you have a set of policies created, so when creating a virtual machine, you define the policy, and then a LUN will be created on the proper storage array. However, to enable vVols to trigger the storage and create LUNs automatically for your VMs, you need to use vStorage API for Array Integration (VAAI).
Conclusion
VMware allows you to use different types of datastores, each with its own connection protocol. The type of connection that you will be using determines the type of datastore you will work with. Understanding the different types of datastores and their connection protocols is essential for VMware administrators to effectively manage and optimize virtual machine storage.
For more information on VMware vSAN, you can check out my previous blog post “What is VMware vSAN?” using the below link:
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