HP Integrity Virtual Machines 4.2: Installation, Configuration, and Administration

7.2.1 Integrity VM Storage Considerations
When you configure storage for a virtual machine, consider the following:
• VM storage supportability
• Storage performance
• VM storage multipath solutions
• VM storage management
• VM storage changes
• Virtual storage setup time
The following sections explain each of these considerations.
7.2.1.1 VM Storage Supportability
Before you configure virtual machine storage, make sure the VM Host storage can be supported
by the virtual machine.
• All VM Host storage available for use by a VM must meet support requirements for the
Integrity server and OS version that comprise the VM Host. If the physical storage is not
supported by the VM Host, it is not supported for use by a virtual machine.
• All VM Host storage available for use by a VM must be connected with a supported adapter
and driver type. See the HP Integrity Virtual Machines 4.2: Release Notes for the list of supported
types.
If the physical storage is not connected with one of the supported adapter and driver types,
it cannot be used by a guest. Use the ioscan command to display the VM Host storage that
is connected to adapters and drivers.
• Any VM Host attachable devices available for use by a guest must be supported by the guest
OS to which it is attached. If the physical device is not supported by the guest OS, the device
cannot be attached to the guest.
7.2.1.2 Performance of Virtual Devices
To meet the performance requirements of applications running in guests, consider the potential
performance of each type of Integrity VM storage device.
Different types of virtual media have different effects on the performance of the virtual device
because they communicate differently with the VM Host to complete virtual machine I/O
operations. To understand the effect of the virtual device type on potential performance, consider
the Integrity VM storage I/O stack illustrated in Figure 7-1.
7.2 Configuring Integrity VM Storage 103