Book description
In this IBM® Redbooks® publication, we describe recommendations based on an IBM b-type storage area network (SAN) environment that is utilizing VMware vSphere ESXi. We describe the hardware and software and the unique features that they bring to the marketplace. We then highlight those features and how they apply to the SAN environment, and the best practices for ensuring that you get the best out of your SAN.
For background reading, we recommend the following Redbooks publications:
- Introduction to Storage Area Networks and System Networking, SG24-5470
- IBM System Storage SAN Volume Controller Best Practices and Performance Guidelines, SG24-7521
- IBM System Storage SAN Volume Controller and Storwize V7000 Replication Family Services, SG24-7574
- Implementing the IBM System Storage SAN Volume Controller V6.3, SG24-7933
- IBM SAN Volume Controller Stretched Cluster with PowerVM and PowerHA, SG24-8142
- Implementing the IBM SAN Volume Controller and FlashSystem 820, SG24-8172
- IBM System Storage DS8000 Copy Services for Open Systems, SG24-6788
- IBM System Storage DS8000: Host Attachment and Interoperability, SG24-8887
This book is aimed at pre- and post-sales support, system administrators, and storage administrators.
Table of contents
- Front cover
- Notices
- Preface
- Chapter 1. Introduction
-
Chapter 2. General SAN design and best practices
- 2.1 16 Gbps Fibre Channel
-
2.2 Physical patching
- 2.2.1 Using a structured approach
- 2.2.2 Modular data cabling
- 2.2.3 Cabling high-density, high port-count fiber equipment
- 2.2.4 Using color to identify cables
- 2.2.5 Establishing a naming scheme
- 2.2.6 Patch cables
- 2.2.7 Patch panels
- 2.2.8 Horizontal and backbone cables
- 2.2.9 Horizontal cable managers
- 2.2.10 Vertical cable managers
- 2.2.11 Overhead cable pathways
- 2.2.12 Cable ties
- 2.2.13 Implementing the cabling infrastructure
- 2.2.14 Testing the links
- 2.2.15 Building a common framework for the racks
- 2.2.16 Preserving the infrastructure
- 2.2.17 Documentation
- 2.2.18 Stocking spare cables
- 2.2.19 Best practices for managing the cabling
- 2.2.20 Summary
- 2.3 Switch interconnections
- 2.4 Device placement
- 2.5 Data flow considerations
- 2.6 Host bus adapter
- 2.7 Zoning
- 2.8 Redundancy and resiliency
- 2.9 Topologies
-
2.10 Distance
- 2.10.1 Buffer allocation
- 2.10.2 Fabric interconnectivity over Fibre Channel at longer distances
- 2.10.3 Fibre Channel over IP
- 2.10.4 FCIP with FCR
- 2.10.5 Using EX_Ports and VEX_Ports
- 2.10.6 Advanced FCIP configuration
- 2.10.7 FCIP design best practices
- 2.10.8 FCIP Trunking
- 2.10.9 Virtual Fabrics
- 2.10.10 Ethernet Interface Sharing
- 2.10.11 Workloads
- 2.10.12 Intel based virtualization storage access
-
2.11 Security
- 2.11.1 Zone management: Dynamic Fabric Provisioning
- 2.11.2 Zone management: Duplicate WWNs
- 2.11.3 Role-based access controls
- 2.11.4 Access control lists
- 2.11.5 Policy database distribution
- 2.11.6 In-flight encryption and compression: b-type (16 Gbps) platforms only
- 2.11.7 In-flight encryption and compression guidelines
- 2.12 Monitoring
- 2.13 Scalability, supportability, and performance
-
Chapter 3. General practices for VMware
- 3.1 VMware Pluggable Storage Architecture
- 3.2 Asymmetric Logical Unit Access
- 3.3 VMware vStorage APIs for Storage Awareness
- 3.4 Storage I/O Control
- 3.5 Storage Distributed Resource Scheduler
- 3.6 Virtual Machine File System
- 3.7 VMware vMotion
- 3.8 VMware storage vMotion
- 3.9 vStorage APIs for Array Integration
- 3.10 Raw Device Mapping
- 3.11 VMware thin provisioning
- 3.12 IBM Storage Management Console for VMware vCenter
- 3.13 General recommendation
-
Chapter 4. General practices for storage
- 4.1 Configuring and servicing external storage systems
- 4.2 Disk
-
4.3 MDisks and volumes
- 4.3.1 Disk tiering
- 4.3.2 Logical disk configuration guidelines for storage systems
- 4.3.3 RAID configuration guidelines for storage systems
- 4.3.4 Optimal storage pool configuration guidelines for storage systems
- 4.3.5 FlashCopy mapping guidelines for storage systems
- 4.3.6 Image mode volumes and data migration guidelines for storage systems
- 4.3.7 Configuring a balanced storage system
- 4.4 Volumes
- 4.5 Back-end
- 4.6 Front-end/fabric
- 4.7 VMware considerations
- 4.8 Maintenance considerations
- 4.9 Putting it all together
- 4.10 References
-
Chapter 5. Business continuity and disaster recovery
- 5.1 Continuity and recovery solutions
- 5.2 IBM Replication Family Services
- 5.3 IBM SAN Volume Controller Stretched Cluster
- 5.4 VMware vSphere Fault Tolerance
- 5.5 VMware vSphere vMotion and VMware vSphere HA
- 5.6 Storage Replication Adapter for IBM SAN Volume Controller
- 5.7 Backup and restore solutions
- 5.8 Traditional backup and restore with Tivoli Storage Manager
- 5.9 Tivoli Storage Manager for Virtual Environments
- 5.10 VMware vSphere Data Protection
- Chapter 6. Entry level scenario
- Chapter 7. Midrange level scenario
-
Chapter 8. Enterprise scenario
- 8.1 Introduction
- 8.2 Fabric types
- 8.3 Edge-core-edge design
-
8.4 Zoning
- 8.4.1 Types of zoning
- 8.4.2 Prezoning tips and shortcuts
- 8.4.3 SAN Volume Controller internode communications zone
- 8.4.4 SAN Volume Controller storage zones
- 8.4.5 Storwize V7000 storage subsystem
- 8.4.6 SAN Volume Controller host zones
- 8.4.7 Standard SAN Volume Controller zoning configuration
- 8.4.8 Aliases
- 8.4.9 Zones
- 8.4.10 Zoning with multiple SAN Volume Controller clustered systems
- 8.4.11 Split storage subsystem configurations
- 8.5 Switch domain IDs
- 8.6 Tying it all together
- 8.7 VMware enterprise level
- 8.8 References
- Related publications
- Back cover
Product information
- Title: IBM SAN Solution Design Best Practices for VMware vSphere ESXi
- Author(s):
- Release date: September 2013
- Publisher(s): IBM Redbooks
- ISBN: 9780738438696
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