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VMware Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) volumes that are created using the vSphere Client are automatically aligned on 64 KB boundaries. Therefore, Dell strongly recommends using the vSphere Client to create and format VMFS volumes.
Note: See Partition alignment for a detailed description of track and sector alignment in x86 environments.
The vSphere Client offers a single process to create an aligned VMFS. The following section walks through creating the VMFS datastore in the vSphere Client in a vSphere 7.0 environment.
Note: A datastore in a VMware environment can be either an NFS file system, VMFS, or vVol in vSphere. Therefore, the term datastore is used in the rest of the document. Furthermore, a group of VMware ESXi hosts sharing a group of datastores is known as a cluster. This cluster is distinct from a datastore cluster, the details of which can be found in Datastore clusters.
The user starts by selecting a cluster (or host) on the left side of the vSphere Client. If shared storage is presented across a cluster of hosts, any host can be selected. A series of tabs is available on the right side of the Client. Select the Datastores tab as in Figure 9. All available datastores on the VMware cluster are displayed here. In addition to the current state information, the pane also provides the options to manage the datastore information and create a datastore. The wizard to create a datastore can be launched by selecting ACTIONS -> Storage -> New Datastore menu option that is outlined in red in Figure 9.
The New Datastore wizard on startup presents a summary of the required steps to provision a new datastore in vSphere, as seen in the highlighted box in Figure 10. Select the Type VMFS.
Selecting the NEXT button in the wizard presents all viable FC, NVMeoF, or iSCSI attached devices. The next step in the process, as shown in Figure 11 entails:
Importantly, devices that have existing VMFS volumes are not presented on this screen, whether that device contains free space or not. However, devices with existing non-VMFS formatted partitions, but with free space, are visible in the wizard.
Note: Devices that have incorrect VMFS signatures appear in this wizard. Incorrect signatures are usually due to devices that contain replicated VMFS volumes or changes in the storage environment that result in changes to the SCSI personality of devices. For more information about handling these types of volumes, see Cloning virtual machines Cloning virtual machines using .
Note: The vSphere Client allows only one datastore on a device. Dell PowerMax storage arrays support nondisruptive expansion of storage LUNs. The excess capacity available after expansion can be used to expand the existing datastore on the LUN. Growing VMFS in VMware vSphere on this feature of Dell PowerMax storage arrays. Dell Technologies does not recommend using multiple LUNs (extents) in a single datastore as it can cause several performance and management issues. It is also unnecessary as VMware supports very large datastores with a single device.
The next screen prompts the user for the type of VMFS format. The default is VMFS 6 format. If older vSphere environments are planned to access the datastore, the user can select the older VMFS 5 format. This screen is shown in Figure 12.
The user is then presented with the partition configuration. Here, if VMFS 6 has been chosen, there is the ability to set the automated UNMAP method. It is on by default in Figure 13, set to low. vSphere offers the ability to use a fixed size for UNMAP rather than priority. However, the vSphere Client and vSphere Client do not permit setting it at creation time. In any case, Dell Technologies recommends using the defaults.
The final screen provides a summary, as seen in Figure 14.
VMware ESXi provides a command-line utility, vmkfstools, to create VMFS. The VMFS volume can be created on either FC, NVMeoF, or iSCSI attached Dell PowerMax storage devices by using partedUtil for ESXi. Due to the complexity involved in using command-line utilities, VMware and Dell recommend use of the vSphere Client to create a VMware datastore on Dell PowerMax devices.
Note: The vmkfstools vCLI can be used with ESXi. The vmkfstools vCLI supports most but not all the options that the vmkfstools service console command supports. See VMware Knowledge Base article 1008194 for more information.