Assigning WWNs to Virtual Machines

You can assign a WWN to a new virtual machine with an RDM disk when you create this virtual machine, or to an existing virtual machine you can temporarily power off.

To create a virtual machine with an RDM

1	From the VI Client, click Inventory in the navigation bar, and expand the inventory as needed.

2	In the inventory list, select the managed host to which you want to add a new virtual machine.

3	Choose File > New > Virtual Machine.

The New Virtual Machine wizard appears.

4	Select Custom, and click Next.

5	Type a virtual machine name, and click Next.

6	Select a folder or the root of a datacenter, and click Next.

7	If the resource pool option is available, expand the tree until you locate the resource pool in which you want to run the virtual machine, highlight it, and click Next.

8	Select a datastore in which to store the virtual machine files, and click Next.

9	Under Guest operating system, select the operating system family (Microsoft Windows, Linux, Novell NetWare, Solaris, or Other).

10	Choose the version from the pull-down menu, and click Next.

11	Select the number of virtual processors in the virtual machine from the pull-down list, and click Next.

12	Configure the virtual machine’s memory size by selecting the number of megabytes, and click Next.

13	Configure network connections, and click Next.

14	Choose the type of SCSI adapter you want to use with the virtual machine.

15	Select Raw Device Mapping, and click Next.

16	From a list of SAN disks or LUNs, select a raw LUN you want your virtual machine to access directly.

17	Select a datastore for the RDM mapping file.

You can place the RDM file on the same datastore where your virtual machine files reside, or select a different datastore.

 

Note If you want to use VMotion for a virtual machine with enabled NPIV, make sure that the RDM file is located on the same datastore where the virtual machine configuration file resides. You cannot perform Storage VMotion, or VMotion between datastores, when NPIV is enabled.

18	Select a compatibility mode, either physical or virtual.

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Physical compatibility mode allows the guest operating system to access the hardware directly. Physical compatibility is useful if you are using SAN-aware applications in the virtual machine. However, a virtual machine with the physical compatibility RDM cannot be cloned, made into a template, or migrated if the migration involves copying the disk.

•	Virtual compatibility allows the RDM to behave as if it were a virtual disk, so you can use such features as snapshotting, cloning, and so on.

Depending on your choice, subsequent screens offer different options.

19	On the Specify Advanced Options page, you can change the virtual device node and click Next.

20	Assign WWNs to the virtual machine following the steps in To assign or modify WWNs.On the Ready to Complete New Virtual Machine page, select the Edit the virtual machine settings before completion check box and click Next.

After you create a virtual machine with an RDM, you can assign virtual WWNs to it. You can also modify WWN assignments for an existing virtual machine with an RDM. Make sure to power off the virtual machine if you want to edit the existing WWNs.

To assign or modify WWNs

1	Ensure that your SAN administrator has provisioned the storage LUN ACL to allow the virtual machine’s ESX Server host to access it.

2	Open the Virtual Machine Properties dialog box:

•	For a new virtual machine, after creating the virtual machine as described in To create a virtual machine with an RDM, on the Ready to Complete New Virtual Machine page select the Edit the virtual machine settings before submitting the creation task checkbox, and click Continue.

•	For an existing virtual machine, select the virtual machine from the inventory panel, and click the Edit Settings link.

3	Select the Options tab.

4	Select Fibre Channel NPIV.

5	In the dialog box that opens, select one of the following options:

•	Leave unchanged — The existing WWN assignments are retained. The read-only WWN Assignments section of this dialog box displays the node and port values of any existing WWN assignments.

•	Generate new WWNs — New WWNs are generated and assigned to the virtual machine, overwriting any existing WWNs (those of the HBA itself are unaffected).

•	Remove WWN assignment — The WWNs assigned to the virtual machine are removed and it uses the HBA WWNs to access the storage LUN. This option is not available if you are creating a new virtual machine.

 

Caution Removing or changing a virtual machine’s existing WWN assignments causes it to lose connectivity to the storage LUNs

6	Click OK to save your changes.