Create a datastore

07/17/2025 Contributors

When you create a datastore at the host cluster level, the datastore is created and mounted on all the hosts of the destination, and the action is enabled only if the current user has the privilege to execute.

Interoperability between native datastores with vCenter Server and ONTAP tools managed datastores

ONTAP tools for VMware vSphere 10 creates nested igroups for datastores, with parent igroups specific to datastores and child igroups mapped to the hosts. You can create flat igroups from ONTAP system manager and use them to create VMFS datastores without using ONTAP tools. Refer to Manage SAN initiators and igroups for more information.

When the storage is onboarded to ONTAP tools and datastore discovery is run, flat igroups and VMFS datastores become ONTAP tools-managed and are converted to nested igroups. You cannot use the earlier flat igroups to create new datastores; you must use the ONTAP tools user interface or REST API to reuse the nested igroups.

Create a vVols datastore

Beginning with ONTAP tools for VMware vSphere 10.3, you can create a vVols datastore on ASA r2 systems with space-efficiency as thin.vVol. The VASA Provider creates a container and the desired protocol endpoints while creating the vVol datastore. This container will not have any backing volumes.

Before you begin

Ensure that root aggregates aren't mapped to SVM.
Ensure that the VASA Provider is registered with the selected vCenter.
In the ASA r2 storage system, SVM should be mapped to aggregate for SVM user.

Steps

Log in to the vSphere client.
Right-click a host system, host cluster, or data center and select NetApp ONTAP tools > Create Datastore.
Select vVols Datastore type.
Enter the Datastore name and Protocol information.

The ASA r2 system supports the iSCSI and FC protocols for vVols.
Select the storage VM where you want to create the datastore.
Under advanced options:
- If you select the Custom export policy, ensure you run discovery in vCenter for all objects. It’s recommended that you do not use this option.
- You can select Custom initiator group name for the iSCSI and FC protocols.
  
  In ASA r2 storage system type SVM, storage units (LUN/namespace) aren't created because the datastore is only a logical container.
In the Storage attributes pane, you can create new volumes or use the existing volumes. However, you cannot combine these two types of volumes to create a vVols datastore.

When creating a new volume, you can enable QoS on the datastore. By default, one volume is created for every LUN-created request. This step is not applicable for vVols datastores using the ASA r2 storage systems.
Review your selection in the Summary pane and select Finish.

Create an NFS datastore

A VMware Network File System (NFS) datastore uses the NFS protocol to connect ESXi hosts to a shared storage device over a network. NFS datastores are commonly used in VMware vSphere environments and offer several advantages, such as simplicity and flexibility.

Steps

Log in to the vSphere client.
Right-click a host system, host cluster, or data center and select NetApp ONTAP tools > Create datastore.
Select NFS in the Datastore type field.
Enter the datastore name, size, and protocol information in the Name and protocol pane. Select Datastore cluster and Kerberos authentication in the advanced options.

Kerberos authentication is available only when the NFS 4.1 protocol is selected.
Select Platform and Storage VM in the Storage pane.
If you select Custom export policy under the advanced options, run the discovery in vCenter for all objects. It’s recommended that you do not use this option.

You cannot create an NFS datastore using the SVM’s default/root volume policy.
- In the advanced options, the Asymmetric toggle button is visible only if performance or capacity is selected in the platform drop-down.
- When you choose the Any option in the platform dropdown, you can see the SVMs that are part of the vCenter irrespective of the platform or asymmetric flag.
Select the aggregate for volume creation in the Storage Attributes pane. In the advanced options, choose Space Reserve and Enable QoS as required.
Review the selections in the Summary pane and select Finish.

The NFS datastore is created and mounted on all the hosts.

Create a VMFS datastore

Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) is a clustered file system that stores virtual machine files in VMware vSphere environments. VMFS allows multiple ESXi hosts to access the same virtual machine files concurrently, enabling features like vMotion and High Availability.

On a protected cluster:

You can create only a VMFS datastores. When you add a VMFS datastore to a protected cluster, the datastore becomes protected automatically.
You cannot create a datastore on a data center with one or more protected host clusters.
You cannot create a datastore at the ESXi host if the parent host cluster is protected with a relationship of "Automated Failover Duplex policy" type (uniform/non-uniform config).
You can create a VMFS datastore only on an ESXi host protected by an asynchronous relationship. You cannot create and mount a datastore on an ESXi host that is part of a host cluster protected by the "Automated Failover Duplex" policy.

Before you begin

Enable services and LIFs for each protocol on the ONTAP storage side.
Map SVM to aggregate for SVM user in the ASA r2 storage system.
Configure the ESXi host if you're using the NVMe/TCP protocol:
1. Review the VMware Compatibility Guide
  
  VMware vSphere 7.0 U3 and later versions support the NVMe/TCP protocol. However, VMware vSphere 8.0 and later versions are recommended.
2. Validate whether the Network Interface Card (NIC) vendor supports ESXi NIC with the NVMe/TCP protocol.
3. Configure the ESXi NIC for NVMe/TCP according to the NIC vendor specifications.
4. When using VMware vSphere 7 release, follow the instructions on the VMware site Configure VMkernel Binding for the NVMe over TCP Adapter to configure NVMe/TCP port binding. When using VMware vSphere 8 release, follow Configuring NVMe over TCP on ESXi, to configure the NVMe/TCP port binding.
5. For VMware vSphere 7 release, follow the instructions on page Enable NVMe over RDMA or NVMe over TCP Software Adapters to configure NVMe/TCP software adapters. For the VMware vSphere 8 release, follow Add Software NVMe over RDMA or NVMe over TCP Adapters to configure the NVMe/TCP software adapters.
6. Run Discover storage systems and hosts action on the ESXi host. For more information, refer to How to Configure NVMe/TCP with vSphere 8.0 Update 1 and ONTAP 9.13.1 for VMFS Datastores.
If you are using the NVME/FC protocol, perform the following steps to configure the ESXi host:
1. If not already enabled, enable NVMe over Fabrics(NVMe-oF) on your ESXi host(s).
2. Complete SCSI zoning.
3. Ensure that ESXi hosts and the ONTAP system are connected at a physical and logical layer.

To configure an ONTAP SVM for FC protocol, refer to Configure an SVM for FC.

For more information on using NVMe/FC protocol with VMware vSphere 8.0, refer to NVMe-oF Host Configuration for ESXi 8.x with ONTAP.

For more information on using NVMe/FC with VMware vSphere 7.0, refer to ONTAP NVMe/FC Host Configuration guide and TR-4684.

Steps

Log in to the vSphere client.
Right-click a host system, host cluster, or data center and select NetApp ONTAP tools > Create Datastore.
Select VMFS datastore type.
Enter the datastore name, size, and protocol information in the Name and Protocol pane. If you choose to add the new datastore to an existing VMFS datastore cluster, select the datastore cluster selector under Advanced Options.
Select storage VM in the Storage pane. Provide the Custom initiator group name in the Advanced options section as required. You can choose an existing igroup for the datastore or create a new igroup with a custom name.

When NVMe/FC or NVMe/TCP protocol is selected, a new namespace subsystem is created and is used for namespace mapping. The namespace subsystem is created using the auto-generated name that includes the datastore name. You can rename the namespace subsystem in the custom namespace subsystem name field in the advanced options of the Storage pane.

From the storage attributes pane:

Select Aggregate from the drop-down options.

For ASA r2 storage systems, the Aggregate option is not shown because the ASA r2 storage is a disaggregated storage. When you choose an ASA r2 storage system type SVM, the storage attributes page shows the options for enabling QoS.

As per the selected protocol, a storage unit(LUN/Namespace) is created with a space reserve of type thin.

Beginning in ONTAP 9.16.1, ASA r2 storage systems support up to 12 nodes per cluster.
Select the Performance service level for ASA r2 storage systems with 12 nodes SVM that is a heterogeneous cluster. This option is unavailable if the selected SVM is a homogeneous cluster or uses an SVM user.

'Any' is the default performance service level (PSL) value. This setting creates the storage unit using the ONTAP balanced placement algorithm. However, you can select the performance or extreme option as required.
Select Use existing volume, Enable QoS options as required, and provide the details.

In the ASA r2 storage type, volume creation or selection does not apply to storage unit creation(LUN/Namespace). Therefore, these options are not shown.

You cannot use the existing volume to create a VMFS datastore with NVMe/FC or NVMe/TCP protocol; you should create a new volume.

Review the datastore details in the Summary pane and select Finish.

If you create the datastore on a protected cluster, you can see a read-only message: "The datastore is being mounted on a protected Cluster."

Result

The VMFS datastore is created and mounted on all the hosts.

Create a datastore

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