User manual

Standard storage provides traditional block storage for virtual machines. Standard storage is lower cost
and appropriate for storage of tier 2 and tier 3 data. Tier 2 and tier 3 include data that is seldom-used or
event driven.
Examples of tier 2 and tier 3 data include large data sets, such as log file storage and archival of large
sets of static data.
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SSD-Accelerated Storage
SSD-Accelerated storage provides higher performance block storage for virtual machines. SSD-
Accelerated storage is appropriate for all tiers (1, 2, and 3); though, it is most recommended for tier 1
data. Tier 1 includes data that is mission-critical, frequently accessed, or requires a high degree of
security.
Examples of tier 1 data include a high-access database, which is part of a three-tier application, a host
cache, or a virtual machine boot (primary) disk.
Features of Storage in vCloud Air
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Migrating virtual machine disks between tiers has no impact on virtual machine uptime or availability;
for example, when moving a virtual machine disk to the other storage tier, the virtual machine can
remain powered on and accessible.
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You can allocate storage to a virtual machine on a per-disk basis; for example, a virtual machine with
two disks could have one disk utilizing SSD-Accelerated storage and the other disk utilizing Standard
storage.
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Adjusting storage allocation for a virtual machine does not impact existing snapshots for the virtual
machine; for example, when expanding disk storage for a virtual machine, you do not need to snapshot
the virtual machine before expanding the storage.
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While the total subscribed storage can be fully allocated to one or more Virtual Data Centers, some
storage is reserved for operational overhead, including swap files and catalogs. This prevents you from
fully provisioning the storage allocation to virtual machines. For further information, please review this
Knowledge Base article:
http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?
language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=2043173.
How to View Storage Allocation
There are several ways to view your storage allocation in the vCloud Air (formerly known as vCloud
Hybrid Service) console.
Administrators can view allocated storage at a virtual data center level:
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As a list of virtual data centers for all regions by selecting All Cloud Regions from the drop-down
menu at the top of the console
VMware vCloud Air User's Guide
50 VMware, Inc.