VMware and NetApp:Enhanced DR, Virtual Storage, NAS, and VDI

[dalepa]

Everything you wanted to know about deploying Vmware over Netapp in one place:

What's Hot with VMware and NetApp:Enhanced DR, Virtual Storage, NAS, and VDI

dlp

[zemotard]

Hi I own a ESX infrastructure with NETapp hardware (2 Fas 3020 configured in metro cluster wih 4 shelfs)

What do you want to know ?

This architecture is in production since 1 year ... And we are really satisfied, they are really complementary.

Best regards.

[patwong]

Do you use SnapShot to backup all of your VM? If you do, do you use the new VI SDK or the legancy VimCOM scripting or some third party product between VMWare and NetApp?

Thanks.

[dalepa]

We use snapshots on the production filer and we also snapmirror all the VMs to another Netapp R200. On the R200 we also keep 21 days worth of daily snapshots...

We don't use any SDK... What does the SDK do?

[patwong]

How do you automate the NetApp snapshot of all the LUN used by VMWare? I

am assuming you are using a script in the service console or calling into

the service console, right?

By the way, thanks for the quick reply.

[dalepa]

These are Netapp snapshots, not VMFS snapshots... We schedule the snapshots/snapmirrors through the Netapp GUI/CLI. It's completely independant of vmware ESX... Also we are using NFS, so we don't have LUNs, but you can use Netapp to snapshot the LUNs if you are using FC or iSCSI...

There are several ways to do snapshots.... For all the details see the following: *

Using Network ApplianceTM SnapshotTM Technology with VMware® ESX Server

*

dp

[jeremypage]

dp we are moving to your environment when we move to our new 3850 MII's, I may hit you up for some tips.

I really like what I am seeing so far (we're testing on a 3020, our production will be on a 3070).

[patwong]

How do you stop/pause the VM running in VMWare before NetApp take the

snapshot, and start/restart the VM in VMWare after NetApp took the

snapshot?

I doknow how to schedule NetApp to take the snapshot, but don't know what

is the best way to stop/pause the VM. Some scripts on the web use the

Service Console command, some use perl script. The only I have not seem is

actually using Virtual Center? Give than the service console is going away

in VI 3i, what is the best way?

Thanks.

[jeremypage]

I think most folks just take the snapshot while the VM is up and running, although it's perfectly possible to put the VM itself into snapshot mode when you trigger the snapshot creation on the NAS side. You can use a *nix host with a shell script to the ESX box and the NetApp filer.