How to connect datastore on FC LUN in read-only mode?

[musialj]

Hi

Is there a way to connect/reconnect  datastore on FC LUN to ESX in read-only mode ensuring that NO bit is changed in that LUN?

Some storage arrays have option to mark LUN as read-only but if array doesn't have such feture? Does ESX have such option?

In other words: after storage array failure I want to connect datastore again but I want to be sure that nothing will be changed on LUN that datastore is placed on. No signature, no filesystem - nothing.

Any ideas?

Regards

[abhilashhb]

AFAIK i don't think ESXi has that option. I have seen people doing it from array side.

[zXi_Gamer]

I dont think that is possible, since the LUN is a DISK seen by ESXi and like you said, unless specified by the Array management as read-only.

However, you can have read-only datastore in NAS mounts.

[marcelo_soares]

ESXi doesn't have such feature. In fact, it does not support read-only luns with VMFS filesystems on it.

[continuum]

if this is about a forensic investigation of that LUN here is a workaround - not sure if it would be clean enough to be used in court ... anyway this should work:

unmount the LUN
create new VM
attach the LUN as RDM
before starting the VM create a snapshot
boot the VM into a ESXi-LiveCD or into a Linux LiveCD with vmfs-fuse

even if that writes to the vmdk this changes would run into the snapshot only

[subhasis2009]

not possible on esxi side but on storage side it is possible.

subhasis

[OscarDavey]

You can do this with only from taking  storage management console..

Your Oscar