VMware ESX Server/vSphere Virtual Machines Configuration Guidelines

SIOS Protection Suite for Linux in VMware ESX Server/vSphere Virtual Machines Configuration Guidelines

VMware is a virtual machine technology implemented entirely in software, allowing it to be installed and used on nearly any Intel or AMD processor-based system that meets the minimum hardware requirements. SIOS Protection Suite for Linux is supported in VMware ESX Server virtual machines, with ESX Server versions 3.0 and 3.5 and with VMware vSphere Version 4, 4.1, 5 and 5.1. Additional information about VMware products can be found on the VMware web site at http://www.vmware.com/products.

SIOS Protection Suite for Linux running in a VMware ESX Server/vSphere virtual machine is supported with all of the normal SIOS Protection Suite cluster storage options, including shared (SAN) storage, NAS, and data replication. All of these storage options can be used in virtual-to-virtual, virtual-to-physical, and physical-to-virtual failover configurations.

The configuration of NAS and data replication in a VMware ESX Server/vSphere environment is exactly the same as in a physical machine environment and with either of these storage configurations, VMware VMotion, VMware HA and VMware DRS are supported with SIOS Protection Suite for Linux. To prevent a single point of failure, the configuration using these features should ensure that multiple SIOS Protection Suite nodes do not end up on the same VMware vSphere server.

The configuration of shared (SAN) storage, however, does require some special consideration in a SIOS Protection Suite cluster environment due to the way that VMware ESX Server/vSphere manages and presents storage controllers and devices to the virtual machines.

In order for SIOS Protection Suite to have the level of access and control that it requires for shared storage devices in a Linux guest VM, all SAN storage that is to be placed under SIOS Protection Suite control in a VMware ESX Server/vSphere environment should be configured using a technique that VMware calls Raw Device Mapping. This includes ESX/vSphere server configurations using multipathing (Note: multipath configurations in a Linux guest VM are not supported). Additionally, in virtual-to-virtual configurations with shared storage devices, each VM in the SIOS Protection Suite cluster must reside on a separate ESX/vSphere Server. SIOS Protection Suite’s requirement on the use of Raw Device
Mapping in SAN storage environments will prevent the use of snapshots and VMware VMotion for Virtual Machine migration. In this configuration VMware VMotion does not support migration of Virtual Machines using Raw Device Mapping. VMware DRS is also not supported with Raw Device Mapping as this VMware feature depends on VMware VMotion. VMware HA in a SAN storage configuration is supported with Raw Device Mapping.

Using Raw Device Mapping is an absolute requirement with ESX Server v3.x and vSphere 4.x and 5.x, as it is the only means of accessing shared storage in a clustered environment that is supported by VMware.

Following the appropriate procedure below for your VMware release will provide SIOS Protection Suite for Linux running in the virtual machine with direct access to the shared storage device, just as it would appear on a physical machine. This enables SIOS Protection Suite to perform the necessary identification and management of the device in the clustered environment.

For a VMware ESX Server v3.5 or vSphere 4.x and 5.x virtual machine, use the following procedure to configure raw device mapping for a shared disk or LUN:

1. The virtual machine should be in the powered off state.
2. In the Virtual Infrastructure Client interface (ESX Server v3.5) or VMware vSphere Client interface (vSphere 4.x), right-click on the virtual machine and select Edit Settings from the menu.
3. On the Hardware tab, click Add.
4. Select Hard Disk and click Next.
5. Select Raw Device Mappings and click Next.
6. Select the appropriate shared storage device from the Adapter:Target:LUN list and click Next. Select the appropriate shared storage device from the Adapter:Target:LUN list and click Next.
7. Select the datastore location (Store with Virtual Machine is recommended) . If you choose Specify datastore, select an appropriate datastore location. Click Next.
8. Select the Physical compatibility mode and click Next.
9. Choose a SCSI Virtual Device node from the Node list and click Next. Note: select a device node that resides on a different bus from the VM’s root disk.
10. Click Finish.
11. Click OK.
12. Select Edit Settings from the menu.
13. Select the SCSI Controller for the Virtual Device node selected in step 9 and set the SCSI Bus Sharing policy to either Virtual or Physical depending on the configuration (virtual if bus is shared between virtual machines, physical if bus is shared virtual-to-physical).
14. Click OK.

For a VMware ESX Server v3.0 virtual machine, use the following procedure to configure raw device
mapping for a shared disk or LUN:

1. The virtual machine should be in the powered off state.
2. In the Virtual Infrastructure Client interface, right-click on the virtual machine and select Edit Settings from the menu.
3. On the Hardware tab, click Add.
4. Select Hard Disk and click Next.
5. Select Mapped SAN LUN and click Next.
6. Select the appropriate shared storage device from the LUN list and click Next.
7. Select the datastore location (Store with Virtual Machine is recommended) . If you choose Specify datastore, select an appropriate datastore location. Click Next.
8. Select the Physical compatibility mode and click Next.
9. Choose a Virtual Device Node from the Node list and click Next.
10. Click Finish.
11. Click OK.

There is a case in VMs with the RDM reported, it takes more than an hour to start the OS installed in VMs.
Please refer to the following link as a workaround for the case http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1016106