Vmware esx 4.1 cant see existing SAN storage

storagevirtualizationvmware-esx

I have 3 esx 4.1 hosts connected to HP EVA 4400 StorageWork. All host can see 6 datastore, LUN1 to LUN6, 1TB for each datastore. Recently I add another esx 4.1 host but unfortunately this now host cant see the existing datastore. I try to rescan the datastore many times but still failed to see the datastore.

FYI I've already created new host using HP Command view for the new esx host and present all 6 vdisk/LUN to the new host. I've also install vmware-esx-drivers-scsi-bfa-400.2.1.1.1-1OEM.x86_64.rpm driver for FC adapter (dual port), the same driver for another 3 esx hosts, but still failed to see the datastore. What most probably the problem?

Does anybody face the same problem like this before? Please advice..

Best Answer

Start off by triple checking your zoning and LUN masking. I know you did it already, but if you made a typo or something, that would do this.

  • You need to ensure that your switch has a zone containing all the front end ports for your EVA as well as the HBA for your new VMWare server. Most FC places have two switches, so you'll want to see that zone on each switch.
  • Once that's done, go back into the EVA and triple check that the vdisks are being allocated to the new server and that the new server has the right WWNs in it.

Once this has been checked, reboot your VMWare server, and press ctrl-q during the boot up to access the qlogic HBA directly. From this interface, you can see on each card and each port on that card what devices are visible. If you can't see the HP EVA, it's a FC switch, card, or cable problem. If you can see it, but can't see the LUNs when you go "into" it, then it's an EVA problem. If you can see them but you can't see the datastore, then it's a VMWare problem.

If it's a switch problem, start off by ensuring the ports your server is plugged into are on. If they're on, ensure they're not in the wrong mode. You want an F port, not an E port or FL port. Make sure that the port your new ESX server is plugged into is blinking, and then go check the WWN logged into that port. You can validate this against the zoning on the switch, as well as the LUN masking on the EVA.

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