VMware Cloud Community
lowemic1
Contributor
Contributor
Jump to solution

iSCSI without vmotion - what if host failure?

So we have four hosts running ESX 3.5 and and Virtual Center server....we have an iSCSI that we want to start moving VM's over to..but we don't have licensing for vmotion...atleast not yet. Right now all the VM's reside on local storage to the hosts.....if we move VM's to iSCSI without vmotion and High Availability....how would you bring a VM online on a second host if the host it normally resides on fails?

Reply
0 Kudos
1 Solution

Accepted Solutions
dominic7
Virtuoso
Virtuoso
Jump to solution

Right-click on the datastore and browse, then select the VM folder and register the VM that you want to bring online. You can also do it through the service console if you prefer command line:

vmware-cmd -s register /path/to/.vmx

<-- This is all assuming you have shared storage between the hosts.

View solution in original post

Reply
0 Kudos
3 Replies
dominic7
Virtuoso
Virtuoso
Jump to solution

Right-click on the datastore and browse, then select the VM folder and register the VM that you want to bring online. You can also do it through the service console if you prefer command line:

vmware-cmd -s register /path/to/.vmx

<-- This is all assuming you have shared storage between the hosts.

Reply
0 Kudos
JeffDrury
Hot Shot
Hot Shot
Jump to solution

Without Vmotion and HA you can still move the VM's from host to host but it is not a seamless process. In order to move the VM's from local storage to your iSCSI you will need to power down the VM and then migrate to the new storage. Once the migration is complete you can then power on the VM. The same holds true if you want to move the VM from one host to another, without Vmotion you will need to power down, move the VM to another host and power on. With HA if the host crashes then the VM's would be automatically started on the surviving host. Without HA this would be a manual process and someone would have to go into the console and start the VM's on the surviving host.

In any case you are better off with iSCSI instead of local storage, as there are options available in the event of a host failure. With local storage only in the event of a host failure your options are severely limited.

lowemic1
Contributor
Contributor
Jump to solution

thanks eveyone, I assumed we were better with iSCSI than local I just

didn't know what the process was to boot that VM on another host. It

doesn't seem too bad...nothing we run can't be down for an hour or more

without escalating beyond being an inconvenience.

Reply
0 Kudos