Storage Design and Implementation in vSphere 6: A Technology Deep Dive (VMware Press Technology)

Now fully updated: The authoritative, comprehensive guide to vSphere 6 storage implementation and management

Effective VMware virtualization storage planning and management has become crucial―but it can be extremely complex. Now, VMware’s leading storage expert thoroughly demystifies the “black box” of vSphere 6 storage and provides illustrated, step-by-step procedures for performing every key task associated with it. Mostafa Khalil presents techniques based on years of personal experience helping customers troubleshoot storage in their vSphere production environments. Drawing on more experience than anyone else in the field, he combines expert guidelines, insights for better architectural design, best practices for planning and management, common configuration details, and deep dives into both vSphere and third-party storage. Storage Design and Implementation in vSphere 6, Second Edition will give you the deep understanding you need to make better upfront storage decisions, quickly solve problems if they arise, and keep them from occurring in the first place.

Coverage includes:

• Planning and implementing Fibre Channel, FCoE, and iSCSI storage in vSphere virtualized environments
• Implementing vSphere Pluggable Storage Architecture native multipathing, SATP, PSP, plug-ins, rules, registration, and more
• Working with Active/Passive and Pseudo-Active/Active ALUA SCSI-3 storage arrays
• Maximizing availability with multipathing and failover
• Improving efficiency and value by unifying and centrally managing heterogeneous storage configurations
• Understanding Storage Virtualization Devices (SVDs) and designing storage to take advantage of them
• Implementing VMware Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) to maximize performance and resource utilization
• Working with virtual disks and raw device mappings (RDMs)
• Managing snapshots in VMFS and Virtual Volumes environments
• Implementing and administering NFS, VAAI, Storage vMotion, VisorFS, and VASA
• Integrating VSAN core and advanced features
• Using Virtual Volumes to streamline storage operations and gain finer VM-level control over external storage
  

Mostafa Khalil is a senior staff engineer at VMware. He is a senior member of the VMware Engineering team and has worked for VMware for more than 18 years. Prior to joining VMware, he worked at Lotus/IBM. A native of Egypt, Mostafa graduated from the Al-Azhar University’s School of Medicine and practiced medicine in Cairo. He became intrigued by the mini computer system used in his medical practice and began to educate himself about computing and networking technologies. After moving to the United States, Mostafa continued to focus on computing and acquired several professional certifications, including VCDX (3, 4, 5, and 6), VCAP (4, 5, and 6)-DCD, VCAP4-DCA, VCP (2, 3, 4, 5, and 6), MCSE, Master CNE, HP ASE, IBM CSE, and Lotus CLP.

As storage became a central element in the virtualization environment, Mostafa became an expert in this field. He has delivered several seminars and troubleshooting workshops at various VMware public events in the United States and elsewhere around the world.