NFS vs ISCSI ... and ... SC/iscsi kernel

[seangar]

2 questions:

1. are there any CONs if we use NFS instead of iSCSI ? I seem to recall a \~limiting~ factor from my training regarding this.

2. in another environment we have iSCSI running connected to NetApp LUNs with a kernel and SC on that network. then we have a separate network for main SC (VC), another for VMOT traffic. Sooo... ont the ISCSI end... the kernel talks to the LUNS and the SC talks to the main SC and VMOT ?

I beleive that I still dont understand the underlying technology.

TIA

S

[Dave_Mishchenko · Accepted solution]

Here are a couple of links to read through on iSCSI vs NFS from a performance perspective:

http://www.vmware.com/community/message.jspa?messageID=371580

http://www.vi411.org/2006/10/10/nasnfs-vs-iscsi-for-esx.html

Sooo... ont the ISCSI end... the kernel talks to the LUNS and the SC talks to the main SC and VMOT ?

The SC port on the iSCSI network is used for authentication to the iSCSI target

[esiebert7625]

NFS is said to be slower but this will depend on your setup. You can also not create VMFS volumes with NFS. These docs provide some good info on this.

The SC network is for the console OS and is separate from the VMkernel networks used for VMotion and iSCSI, these networks are dedicated to Vmotion and iSCSI traffic where as the SC network is dedicated to the SC OS.

Ethernet-based Storage Configuration - http://www.vmware.com/pdf/iscsi_storage_esx.pdf

iSCSI , NAS and IP Storage Configuration for Vmware ESX Server - http://download3.vmware.com/vmworld/2006/tac9722.pdf

Choosing and Architecting Storage for your Environment - http://download3.vmware.com/vmworld/2006/adc0135.pdf

NAS/NFS vs iSCSI for ESX - http://www.vi411.org/2006/10/10/nasnfs-vs-iscsi-for-esx.html

New Storage Technologies: iSCSI, NAS and VMFS 3.0 - http://www.vmware-tsx.com/download.php?asset_id=20

ESX Storage Virtualization Insights - http://www.vmware-tsx.com/download.php?asset_id=40

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Thanks, Eric

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