Create a datastore

02/25/2025 Contributors

When you create a datastore at the host cluster level, the datastore is created and mounted on all the destination hosts. You can see this option only if you have the required privileges.

You can only create a VMFS datastores on a protected cluster. When you add a VMFS datastore to a protected cluster, the datastore becomes protected automatically.
You cannot create a datastore on a data center that has one or more protected host clusters.
You cannot create a datastore at 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 on a host, only when it has an asynchronous relationship.

You can create a vVols datastore with either new volumes or existing volumes. You cannot create vVols datastore with the mix of existing and new volumes.

Check to ensure root aggregates are not mapped to SVM.

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

Before you begin

Ensure that VASA Provider is registered with the selected vCenter.
For SVM user in ASA r2 storage system, SVM should be mapped to aggregate

Steps

Log in to the vSphere client using https://<vcenterip>/<ui>
Right-click a host system or a host cluster or a data center and select NetApp ONTAP tools > Create Datastore.
In the Type pane, select vVols in Datastore Type.
In the Name and Protocol pane, provide Datastore name and Protocol information.

ASA r2 storage type supports only iSCSI and FC protocol for vVols.
In the Storage pane, select the storage VM where you want to create the datastore. In the Advanced options section, select custom export policy (for NFS protocol) or custom initiator group name (for iSCSI amd FC protocol) as applicable.

In ASA r2 storage type SVM, storage units(LUN/namespace) are not created as datastore is only a logical container.
In the Storage attributes pane, you can either create new volumes or use the existing volumes. When creating new volume, you can enable QoS on the datastore. This step is not applicable for vVols datastores using ASA r2 type of ONTAP storage as vVol datastore does not have backing volumes. There would be one volume created on every LUN create request by default.
Review your selection in the Summary pane and select Finish. The vVols Datastore is created and mounted on all the hosts.

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 using https://<vcenterip>/<ui>
Right-click a host system or a host cluster or a data center and select NetApp ONTAP tools > Create Datastore.
In the Type pane, select NFS in Datastore Type.
In the Name and Protocol pane, enter datastore name, size, and protocol information. In the advanced options, select Datastore cluster and Kerberos Authentication.

Kerberos Authentication is available only when the NFS 4.1 protocol is selected.
In the Storage pane, select Platform and Storage VM. You can select custom Export Policy in the Advanced Option section.
- Asymmetric toggle button is visible only if performance or capacity is selected in the platform drop-down.
- Any option in the platform dropdown enables you to see all the SVMs that are part of the vCenter irrespective of the platform or asymmetric flag.
In the Storage Attributes pane, select the aggregate for creation of volume. 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.

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

Before you begin

Check the following items before proceeding:

For each protocol on ONTAP storage side, respective services and LIF’s need to be enabled.
For SVM user in ASA r2 storage system, SVM should be mapped to aggregate
If you are using the NVMe/TCP protocol, perform the following steps to configure the ESXi host:
1. Review the VMware Compatibility Guide
  
  VMware vSphere 7.0 U3 and later versions support NVMe/TCP protocol. However, VMware vSphere 8.0 and later version is recommended.
2. Validate if the Network Interface Card (NIC) vendor supports ESXi NIC with 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 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. 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 a 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 using https://<vcenterip>/<ui>
Right-click a host system or a host cluster or a 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 the Advanced Options.
Select storage VM in the Storage pane. Provide the Custom initiator group name in the Advanced options section of the pane (optional). You can choose an existing igroup for the datastore or create a new igroup with a custom name.

When the protocol is selected as NVMe/FC or NVMe/TCP, a new namespace subsystem is created and is used for namespace mapping. By default, the namespace subsystem is created using the auto-generated name, including 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 menu.

For ASA r2 storage systems, the Aggregate option is not required as the ASA r2 storage is a disaggregated storage. When you choose ASA r2 type SVM, the storage attributes page shows the options to enable QoS.

As per the selected protocol a storage unit(LUN/Namespace) is created with a space reserve of type Thin.
Select Use existing volume, Enable QoS options as required, and provide the details as required.

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

For VMFS datastore creation with NVMe/FC or NVMe/TCP protocol, you cannot use the existing volume, you should create a new volume.

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

If you're creating the datastore on a protected cluster, you can see a read-only message "The datastore is being mounted on a protected Cluster." The VMFS datastore is created and mounted on all the hosts.

Create a datastore

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