How to install vmware and to add second SAN
We are currently running a VMware ESX 3.0.2 server and I am having some problems with connecting our second ESX server to the EMC AX150 fibre channel SAN. I should say and make very clear, when I say chuck away the existing, I am not meaning literally throwing them all in the bin! We will re-use some of the newer ones for a backup box to go on another part of site as part of our Disaster Recovery Plan. If anyone has any suggestion please let me know.
Re: How to install vmware and to add second SAN
On ESX Host 2 did you rescan your FC HBA? Many of the VMware ESX Server advanced features cannot be used without a SAN (storage area network). This way we learn as we go, of course we test things before deployment, but we already have made mistakes. Some of the blades have needed to be re-deployed into the citrix farm due to under provisioning - this has left us with a shortfall.
Re: How to install vmware and to add second SAN
Have you tried running the rescan command esxcfg-rescan vmhba2 fromt the service console command line? The high cost of the ESX Server software and the Virtual Infrastructure Suite, a SAN can be a huge barrier to using VMware ESX and features like VMotion, VMware High Availability (VMHA), and VMware Distributed Resource Scheduler. There are are few key areas to get sorted out before implementation of the VMs themselves.
Re: How to install vmware and to add second SAN
You may need an IEC309 16 or 32A socket for the power distribution bar for the blades, You may want to consider an environmental monitor card too. VMware Server will run on any standard x86 hardware, including Intel and AMD hardware virtualisation assisted systems. The host operating system can be Windows or Linux. This article assumes you are using a Windows XP machine as the host operating system.