VMWare and CommandView and HBAs

[Doug Lucy]

We will be managing a new EVA 4400 disk array from an x86-based instance of MS Windows or Linux. The EVA will be providing storage for a mix of x86 and HP-UX machines.

We want to use VMWare to provide that x86 instance so CommandView doesn't take up an entire server (we're planning on carving up three 2x4 core x86 servers for many duties).

1. Will CommandView (the latest and greatest version) run on MS Windows or Linux under VMWare? Does it require a dedicated HBA? Or can the host VMWare share HBAs amongst the guest OS instances?

2. Can VMWare utilize two physical FC-AL HBAs in one physical server to provide multiple paths from the guest OSes to the SAN like HP-UX does?

3. Is there any advantage running CommandView on Windows versus Linux?

Thanks much!

[Uwe Zessin · Accepted solution]

For serious work, you still need a physical Windows-based management server. There is now a stripped-down version of CV-EVA available for running on the WOCP (=management module), but it is missing functionality:
- firmware upgrades are not possible
- service tools for 'phone home' do not work with it

1.) There is no version of CV-EVA available for running on a Linux server.

2.) You cannot reliably use CV-EVA in a Windows virtual machine, because the EVA controller LUNs are filtered by the multipath driver which does not know how to keep the path on the EVA's master controller and you cannot tell VMware ESX not to filter the controller LUNs, but pass all paths.

NPIV won't work either, because it uses VMkernel RDMs which are mapped to the usual emulated parallel SCSI adapter (BUSlogic/LSIlogic) in the VM. Contrary to popular believe it WILL NOT equip a VM with a Fibre Channel adapter!

BTW: today's Fibre Channel adapters are used with Fabric protocol, not FC_AL.

3.) It is the only solution available - besides the stripped-down version on the WOCP.