PDL and APD settings for esxi 5.5
We have cluster of vmware esxi 5.5 hosts and they are connected to HP LeftHand storages.
LeftHand storages are planned to be updated with the latest version.
Because there is a possibility storage update to failed, and Lun presented from the storages to ESXi host to appear as not available, I was wondering is there anything(any advanced settings in esxi 5.5) that I can configure in esxi 5.5 so I can protect VMs in case of this scenario(PDL and APD). From v6 and above it is easy, we have a VMCP module and settings for PDL and APD down scenario, but what about version of esxi 5.5.
Could you recommend me something, or should I stay with the default settings of esxi5.5 hosts.
LeftHand storages are planned to be updated with the latest version.
Because there is a possibility storage update to failed, and Lun presented from the storages to ESXi host to appear as not available, I was wondering is there anything(any advanced settings in esxi 5.5) that I can configure in esxi 5.5 so I can protect VMs in case of this scenario(PDL and APD). From v6 and above it is easy, we have a VMCP module and settings for PDL and APD down scenario, but what about version of esxi 5.5.
Could you recommend me something, or should I stay with the default settings of esxi5.5 hosts.
ASKER
storage model HP LeftHand 4730 with LeftHand OS 11.5. ESxi5.5 servers are HP BladeServers BL460c with e5-2697v2 processors.
First I will upgrade the storage systems to version 12.5 so they can be compatible with planned upgrade to esxi6.5
My concerns are that sometimes storage upgrade does not go so smoothly and upgrade fails. See this article for example: https://community.spiceworks.com/topic/559397-hp-lefthand-san-nightmare
The person start upgrading the storage nodes and first attempt to upgrade has failed, which leads to problem with the virtual machines.
In case anything goes wrong with the storage upgrade and the host loose connection to the storage, I think that it's better virtual machines to be rebooted. Several months ago we had a little outage during the cache battery change and some of the virtual machines was in a hung state and we needed to reboot them.
HP lefthand storages and vmware are in VMware MetroStorage clusters configuration.
First I will upgrade the storage systems to version 12.5 so they can be compatible with planned upgrade to esxi6.5
My concerns are that sometimes storage upgrade does not go so smoothly and upgrade fails. See this article for example: https://community.spiceworks.com/topic/559397-hp-lefthand-san-nightmare
The person start upgrading the storage nodes and first attempt to upgrade has failed, which leads to problem with the virtual machines.
In case anything goes wrong with the storage upgrade and the host loose connection to the storage, I think that it's better virtual machines to be rebooted. Several months ago we had a little outage during the cache battery change and some of the virtual machines was in a hung state and we needed to reboot them.
HP lefthand storages and vmware are in VMware MetroStorage clusters configuration.
I'm afraid that is always the risk, with storage upgrades, that's why you should have a rollback plan!
and to perform your Storage Upgrade, the VMs should be off, and Hosts should also be off.
or VMs migrated to another platform.
and to perform your Storage Upgrade, the VMs should be off, and Hosts should also be off.
or VMs migrated to another platform.
ASKER
virtual machines will not be used at the time of storage upgrades. We have several storage clusters. Every storage cluster will be updated separately from others.
I just wanted to ensure that in case of PDL or APD situation virtual machines are powered off so when the storage is back I can start them. Is there such advanced settings for esxi host 5.5
I just wanted to ensure that in case of PDL or APD situation virtual machines are powered off so when the storage is back I can start them. Is there such advanced settings for esxi host 5.5
If the upgrade is successful, and the LUNs are presented and connected to the hosts, you should be able to start VMs.
But I would make sure you have Backups of the VMs before you start the upgrade.
If Paths are down, the storage upgrade has failed.
But I would make sure you have Backups of the VMs before you start the upgrade.
If Paths are down, the storage upgrade has failed.
ASKER
what do you think about this parameter VMkernel.Boot.terminateVMO
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If the storage upgrade (firmware upgrade) breaks ESXi 5.5 hosts from detecting the LUNs, changing advanced settings is not going to help you.
I'm a little confused because in a previous question, I mentioned storage compability with ESXi 5.5 and you stated
this question
https://www.experts-exchange.com/questions/29115275/vmware-checks-after-storage-upgrade.html
Can you let me know the exact models and firmware/software on these units ?