Hi,
I'm brand new to VMware ESX/ESXi products and for the most part, SANs. I have configured a few VMs with Server 1 and 2. I'm trying to connect an ESXi 4 virtual server to a SAN and am starting to get very confused about what I can and can't do. I'm hoping someone here can break it down for me as I could not find the answer to my exact questions.
Here's how I'm setup:
I have a Dell PowerEdge R710 with ESXi 4 Update 1 "Dell customized" (whatever that means) installed on it.
I have a Dell MD3000i SAN using iSCSI with a dedicated virtual disk pre-configured.
I would like to create VMs on said virtual disk.
I think ESXi 4 is completely free.
It seems like to manage the server, I need to use 1 of 2 products. The Vsphere client or the VMware Go web app.
If I use Vsphere:
I have the option to add a storage type through the UI.
I'm on a 60 day evaluation. I thought this was all free.
If I configure my iSCSI through Vsphere and then the eval expires.. what happens? Does everything blow up on me and then I have to buy a license to get it back?
If I use VMware go:
It seems like I have really no options to do any kind of iSCSI configuration in VMware Go. Do I?
I also have a XenServer set up in this manner and it is all free. I wanted to try VMware's bare-metal solution but now I'm wondering if I'm going to have to go back to Xen.
Can someone please relieve me of my confusion before I pull the plug on this experiment. Perhaps direct me toward the appropriate documentation on how to configure what I need with what I have at the free-est possible cost.
Thank you very much for your feedback and have a wonderful weekend!
