The new version mainly adds two features in virtualization to better integrate VNX and VMware features. This article will detail VAAI for NFS multi-snapshot.
- VASA (vStorage API for Storage Awareness)
- VAAI (vStorage API for Array Integration) for multiple NFS snapshots)
Solution:
VAAI features
The Array integrated storage API (VAAI) is an API that VMware provides to storage device vendors. In terms of storage, entrusting certain features of VMware Infrastructure to storage arrays will greatly improve the performance of VMware Infrastructure. This is equivalent to "offload" a part of the VMware Infrastructure to underlying storage devices, such as VNX, VMAX, VPLEX, and VNXe. If an operation does not support VAAI, the array returns an error message to the ESXi host, asking the ESXi host to perform this operation.
Design introduction before the new version
- FAST Clone: Allows you to quickly create a copy of a virtual machine by writing a snapshot to VNX.
- Full Clone: the buffer I/O interface is used to read data from the source file and write it into the target file.
- Space Reservation: using nas api extension
- Extended file Stats: Used bytes of the VMDK file attribute
New features introduced in the new version
Fast Clone of a Fast Clone-VAAI for multiple NFS snapshots allows rapid cloning to facilitate faster deployment of multiple virtual desktops while fully utilizing the power of VNX, and releases the power of the CPU server. The emc nas plug-in he VMware View is installed. You can customize and redeploy the virtual desktop, but it has little impact on the performance of the ESXi Server.
VAAI for multiple NFS snapshots is particularly helpful for deploying virtual desktops. When you create a desktop pool in VMware View, a VM template is selected as the basic file for cloning. With the multi-snapshot technology, VMware View can deploy customizable virtual desktops more quickly and efficiently, because snapshot operations are performed by VNX, as shown in the figure above, the ESXi host has "uninstalled" the operation to VNX.
You can first customize the first-level snapshot of the VM basic file, and then generate a snapshot again. In this way, the first-level snapshots can retain customized configurations, while the second-level snapshots are used as virtual desktops. VNX Data Mover uses Quick-to-Create to quickly Create virtual desktops, saving a lot of space.
Benefits of the new VAAI feature
- Making management easier
- Faster virtual machine deployment
- Host performance improvement
Environment required to support new features
- VNX Block version R5.32 and File version v7.1
- Emc nas plug-in
- Components
- ESX 5.0
- VCenter Server
- View Connection Server
- View Composer
- Microsoft SQL server
Deploying VAAI
Step 1: Configure VNX to Create datastore on the ESXi host, and select VMware VAAI nested clone support when using Create a File System Wizard
Step 2: install the emc nas plug-in on the vCenter Server. You can use VMware Update Manager or VMware command line.
Open the vSphere Client, select Home-> Solution and Applications-> Patch and Repository, and click "Import Patches" to Import the plug-in.
Step 3: Configure vCenter settings in View Administrator
Step 4: enable VAAI in View Administrator
Step 5: configure Guest Customization in View Administrator
