Configure FSx for NetApp ONTAP FSx as an iSCSI datastore - Amazon Elastic VMware Service
PrerequisitesCreate an FSx for NetApp ONTAP file systemConfigure a software iSCSI adapter in vSphere for ESXi host storageCreate an iSCSI LUNConfigure and map an initiator group to the iSCSI LUNConfigure dynamic discovery of the iSCSI LUN in vSphereCreate a VMFS Datastore in VMware vSphere using the iSCSI LUN

Configure FSx for NetApp ONTAP FSx as an iSCSI datastore

The following procedure details the minimum steps required to configure FSx for NetApp ONTAP as an iSCSI datastore for Amazon EVS using the FSx console and VMware vSphere client interface that runs on Amazon EVS.

Prerequisites

Before you use Amazon EVS with Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP, make sure that the following prerequisite tasks have been completed.

Create an FSx for NetApp ONTAP file system

  1. Go to the Amazon FSx console.

  2. Choose Create file system.

  3. Select Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP.

  4. Choose Next.

  5. Select Standard create.

  6. For Deployment type, select a Single-AZ deployment option.

    Note

    Amazon EVS only supports Single-AZ deployments at this time.

  7. For SSD storage capacity, specify 1024 GiB.

  8. For Throughput capacity, choose Specify throughput capacity. Choose at least 512 MB/s for Single-AZ 1 or at least 768 MB/s for Single-AZ 2.

  9. Select the Amazon EVS VPC that has connectivity to your Amazon EVS VLAN subnets.

  10. Select a security group that permits all required FSx for ONTAP iSCSI traffic to the Amazon EVS host VMkernel management VLAN subnet.

  11. Select the Amazon EVS service access subnet that your file system will be deployed in. For more information, see Service access subnet.

  12. Within Default volume configuration, set Storage efficiency to Enabled.

  13. Leave the remaining setting at their default values and choose Next.

  14. Review the file system attributes and choose Create file system.

Configure a software iSCSI adapter in vSphere for ESXi host storage

For each ESXi host, you must configure the software iSCSI adapter so that your ESXi hosts can use it to access iSCSI storage. For instruction to configure the software iSCSI adapter for ESXi hosts in vSphere, see Add or Remove the Software iSCSI Adapter in the VMware vSphere product documentation.

After you configure the software iSCSI adapter, copy the iSCSI Qualified Name (IQN) associated with an iSCSI adapter. These values will be used later.

Create an iSCSI LUN

FSx for ONTAP allows you to create Logical Unit Numbers (LUNs) that are specifically intended for iSCSI access, providing shared block storage to your ESXi hosts. You use the NetApp ONTAP CLI to create a LUN.

Below is a sample command.

Note

It is recommended to configure the LUN size to 90% of the volume size.

lun create -vserver <your_svm_name> \
-path /vol/<your_volume_name>/<lun_name> \
-size <required_datastore_capacity> \
-ostype vmware

For more information, see Creating an iSCSI LUN in the FSx for ONTAP User Guide.

Configure and map an initiator group to the iSCSI LUN

Now that you have created an iSCSI LUN, the next step in the process is to create an initiator group (igroup) to connect the volume to the cluster and map the LUN to the initiator group. You use the NetApp ONTAP CLI to perform these actions.

  1. Configure the initiator group.

    Below is a sample command. For --initiator, use the iSCSI adapter IQNs that you copied in the previous step.

    igroup create <svm_name> \
-igroup <initiator_group_name> \
-protocol iscsi \
-ostype vmware \
-initiator <esxi_iqn_1>,<esxi_iqn_2>,<esxi_iqn_3>,<esxi_iqn_4>

  2. Confirm that the igroup exists.

    lun igroup show

  3. Map the LUN to the initiator group. Below is a sample command.

    lun mapping create -vserver <svm_name> \
-path /vol/<vol_name>/<lun_name> \
-igroup <initiator_group_name> \
-lun-id <scsi_lun_number_for this_datastore>

  4. Use the lun show -path command to confirm that the LUN is created, online, and mapped.

    lun show -path /vol/<vol_name>/<lun_name> -fields state,mapped,serial-hex

For more information, see Provisioning iSCSI for Linux or Provisioning iSCSI for Windows in the FSx for ONTAP User Guide.

Configure dynamic discovery of the iSCSI LUN in vSphere

To allow the ESXi hosts to see the iSCSI LUN, you must configure dynamic discovery for each host in the vSphere client interface. For the iSCSI server field, enter the (NFS) DNS name that you copied in the previous step. For more information, see Configure Dynamic or Static Discovery for iSCSI and iSER on ESXi Host in the VMware vSphere product documentation.

Create a VMFS Datastore in VMware vSphere using the iSCSI LUN

Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) datastores serve as repositories for VMware virtual machines. Follow the instruction in Create a vSphere VMFS Datastore to set up the VMFS datastore in VMware vSphere using the iSCSI LUN that you previously configured.