Specifications

Table Of Contents
VMware Server Administration Guide
164 VMware, Inc.
For!example,!if!the!disk!scsi1:0.filename!is!defined!in!the!configuration!file!as
scsi1:0.fileName = "/<path_to_config>/vmSCSI.vmdk"
the!reservation!lock!file!for!this!disk!has!the!default!name!
/<path_to_config>/vmSCSI.vmdk.RESLCK
You!can!provide!your!own!lock!filename.!Add!a!definition!for!scsi1:0.reslckname!to!
the!configuration!file.!For!example,!if!you!add
scsi1:0.reslckname = "/tmp/scsi1-0.reslock"
to!the!configuration!file,!this!name!overrides
!the!default!lock!filename.!
CAUTION Use!the!same!lock!filename!(for!example,!"/tmp/scsi1-0.reslock")!for!
each!virtual!machine!in!the!cluster.!You!must!also!use!the!same!SCSI!
target!for!each!virtual!machine!when!you!define!scsi1:0.reslckname.!
However,!the!SCSI!bus!(scsi1!in!this!case)!does!not!need!to!be!the!same.
After!SCSI!reservation!is!enabled!for!a!disk!!that!is,!the!scsi<x>.sharedBus =
"virtual"!and!disk.locking =!"false"!settings!are!added!to!the!configuration!file!for!
each!virtual!machine!wanting!to!share!this!disk!!you!need
!to!point!each!virtual!
machine!to!this!disk.
To!add!a!virtual!disk!to!a!virtual!machine,!see!“A d d in g !Virtual!Disks!to!a!Virtual!
Machine”.
Issues to Consider When Sharing Disks
! Do!not!try!to!share!a!disk!among!multiple!running!virtual!machines!that!are!not!
collocated!on!the!same!host.!The!disk!file!itself!can!be!located!remotely,!but!the!
virtual!machines!must!be!running!together!on!the!same!VMware!Server!host.!If!
you!try!to!share!a!disk!among!virtual
!machines!located!on!different!hosts,!data!
could!be!corrupted!or!lost.
! Do!not!share!a!disk!on!SCSI!bus!0.!This!bus!is!usually!used!for!the!boot!disk.!If!you!
share!the!boot!disk,!you!run!the!risk!of!corrupting!it,!as!the!boot!program!is!not!
aware!that!the!disk!is!being!shared!and!can!write!to!the!disk!regardless
!of!whether!
or!not!it!is!being!shared.!It!is!far!more!secure!to!use!SCSI!reservation!on!a!data!disk!
located!on!a!different!bus.
! If!only!one!running!virtual!machine!is!using!a!given!disk,!and!it!is!running!
applications!that!do!not!use!SCSI!reservation,!the!disk’s!performance!might!be!
degraded!slightly.