HP 3PAR VMware ESX Implementation Guide
Table Of Contents
- HP 3PAR VMware ESX Implementation Guide
- Contents
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Configuring the HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage for Fibre Channel
- 3 Configuring the HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage for iSCSI
- 4 Configuring the HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage for FCoE
- 5 Configuring the Host for a Fibre Channel Connection
- Installing the HBA and Drivers
- Installing Virtual Machine Guest Operating System
- Multipath Failover Considerations and I/O Load Balancing
- Performance Considerations for Multiple Host Configurations
- ESX/ESXi 4.1, ESXi 5.x Additional Feature Considerations
- Storage I/O Control
- vStorage APIs for Array Integration (VAAI)
- HP 3PAR VAAI Plugin 1.1.1 for ESX 4.1
- HP 3PAR VAAI Plugin 2.2.0 for ESXi 5.x
- UNMAP (Space Reclaim) Storage Hardware Support for ESXi 5.x
- Out-of-Space Condition for ESX 4.1 and ESXi 5.x
- Additional New Primitives Support on ESXi 5.x
- VAAI and New Feature Support Table
- VAAI Plugin Verification
- 6 Configuring the Host as an FCoE Initiator Connecting to a FC target or an FCoE Target
- 7 Configuring the Host for an iSCSI Connection
- Setting Up the Switch, iSCSI Initiator, and iSCSI target ports
- Installing iSCSI on VMware ESX
- Installing Virtual Machine Guest Operating System
- Creating a VMkernel Port
- Configuring a Service Console Connection for the iSCSI Storage
- Configuring the VMware SW iSCSI Initiator
- iSCSI Failover Considerations and Multipath Load Balancing
- Performance Considerations for Multiple Host Configurations
- ESX/ESXi Additional Feature Considerations
- 8 Allocating Storage for Access by the ESX Host
- 9 Booting the VMware ESX Host from the HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage
- 10 Support and Other Resources
- 11 Documentation feedback
- A Appendix

HP SAN Design Reference Guide
If you use an unsupported zoning configuration and an issue occurs, HP may require that you
implement one of the supported zoning configurations as part of the troubleshooting or corrective
action.
After configuring zoning and connecting each host HBA port and HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage port
to the fabric(s), verify the switch and zone configurations using the HP 3PAR OS CLI showhost
command, to ensure that each initiator is zoned with the correct target(s).
HP 3PAR Coexistence
The HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage array can coexist with other HP array families.
For supported HP arrays combinations and rules, see the HP SAN Design Reference Guide, available
on the HP SC website:
HP SAN Design Reference Guide
Configuration Guidelines for Fabric Vendors
Use the following fabric vendor guidelines before configuring ports on fabric(s) to which the
HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage connects.
• Brocade switch ports that connect to a host HBA port or to an HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage
port should be set to their default mode. On Brocade 3xxx switches running Brocade firmware
3.0.2 or later, verify that each switch port is in the correct mode using the Brocade telnet
interface and the portcfgshow command, as follows:
brocade2_1:admin> portcfgshow
Ports 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
-----------------+--+--+--+--+----+--+--+--
Speed AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN
Trunk Port ON ON ON ON ON ON ON ON
Locked L_Port .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
Locked G_Port .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
Disabled E_Port .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
where AN:AutoNegotiate, ..:OFF, ??:INVALID.
The following fill-word modes are supported on a Brocade 8 G/s switch running FOS firmware
6.3.1a and later:
admin>portcfgfillword
Usage: portCfgFillWord PortNumber Mode [Passive]
Mode: 0/-idle-idle - IDLE in Link Init, IDLE as fill word (default)
1/-arbff-arbff - ARBFF in Link Init, ARBFF as fill word
2/-idle-arbff - IDLE in Link Init, ARBFF as fill word (SW)
3/-aa-then-ia - If ARBFF/ARBFF failed, then do IDLE/ARBFF
HP recommends that you set the fill word to mode 3 (aa-then-ia), which is the preferred
mode using the portcfgfillword command. If the fill word is not correctly set, er_bad_os
counters (invalid ordered set) will increase when you use the portstatsshow command
while connected to 8 G HBA ports, as they need the ARBFF-ARBFF fill word. Mode 3 will
also work correctly for lower-speed HBAs, such as 4 Gb/2 Gb HBAs. For more information,
see the Fabric OS command Reference Manual supporting FOS 6.3.1a and the FOS release
notes.
In addition, some HP switches, such as the HP SN8000B 8-slot SAN backbone director switch,
the HP SN8000B 4-slot SAN director switch, the HP SN6000B 16 Gb FC switch, or the HP
12 Configuring the HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage for Fibre Channel