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Provisioning datastores

Provisioning a datastore creates a logical container for your virtual machines and their VMDKs. You can provision a datastore and attach it to a single host, to the hosts in a cluster, or to the hosts in a datacenter by using the Datastore Provisioning wizard.

Before you begin

About this task

VSC enables you to provision datastores from wizards other than the Datastore Provisioning wizard (for example, from the Create Rapid Clones wizard). Using the Datastore Provisioning wizard, though, is beneficial because it allows you to specify a storage capability profile, which ensures consistent Service Level Objectives (SLOs) and simplifies the provisioning process.

VSC creates a datastore on an NFS volume or a LUN. The following happens when you provision a datastore:

Steps

  1. From the vSphere Web Client Home page, click Hosts and Clusters.
    Screen shot: Hosts and Clusters selected on the vSphere Web Client Home page.
  2. In the navigation pane, expand the datacenter where you want to provision the datastore.
    Screen shot: A datacenter expanded in the navigation pane.
  3. Specify the hosts to which you want to mount the datastore:
    To make the datastore available to... Do this...
    All hosts in a datacenter Right-click the datacenter and select NetApp VSC > Provision Datastore.
    All hosts in a cluster Right-click a cluster and select NetApp VSC > Provision Datastore.
    A single host Right-click a host and select NetApp VSC > Provision Datastore.
  4. Complete the pages in the Datastore Provisioning wizard to create the datastore.
    1. In the Name and type page, specify a datastore name, datastore type, and select a storage capability profile, if desired.
      You can specify an existing storage capability profile that the wizard will use when defining the type of storage that you need for your virtual machines. The storage capability profile determines the following storage features: availability, disaster recovery, performance, protocol, and space efficiency. Storage capability profiles are available only if you installed and registered the VASA Provider for clustered Data ONTAP. You can select a default storage capability profile, which ships with the VASA Provider, a profile that you created, or a profile that was auto-generated. To provision a datastore without a storage capability profile, select None.
    2. In the Storage system page, specify the storage system that you want to use for the datastore.
      Note: When connecting directly to an SVM, the provisioning operation might begin, but later fail due to insufficient privileges for the SVM user. SVM privileges are not visible to VSC prior to the operation. If the operation fails, you need to modify the privileges for that SVM user. You can check VSC logs for messages that identify the failed command. An alternative is to use the "RBAC User Creator for Data ONTAP" tool.
    3. In the Details page, specify details about the datastore that you want to create.
      Most of the fields on this page are self-explanatory. The following table describes fields for which you might need guidance:
      Field Description
      Thin provision Allocates space on the volume when data is written, which allows you to provision more storage than is currently available. If disabled, space is reserved immediately.

      You must closely monitor the available space in the containing aggregate because thin provisioning can oversubscribe the available space. In an NFS configuration, you can enable auto grow to automatically expand the datastore when space is needed. Make sure that the value you specify for auto grow is larger than the size of the datastore.

      Aggregate Defines the aggregate on which you want to create a new volume. If you selected an SVM that is directly connected to VSC, striped aggregates appear as available; however, they are not supported. Provisioning to a striped aggregate will fail.
      Volume Specifies the volume on which you want to create the datastore. For clustered Data ONTAP, you should not create a datastore in the Storage Virtual Machine (SVM) root volume.
      Auto grow (NFS only) Automatically expands the datastore by the specified increment when space is needed, up to the size limit. This size limit you specify must be larger than the existing datastore.
      Datastore cluster Adds the datastore to a cluster if the Storage Distributed Resource Scheduler (SDRS) feature is enabled on the vCenter Server. Do not mix datastores with varying offsets in the same cluster and do not mix optimized and non-optimized datastores.
    4. In the Ready to complete page, review the summary of your selections and click Finish.

Result

VSC creates the datastore.

After you finish

Add virtual machines to the datastore.