ESXi Re-install with FC-AL SAN

[cnrobertsSD]

Hello,

I need to re-install ESXi on a couple hosts that are connected to SAN storage with a fibre channel arbitrated loop.  I'm pretty new to storage area networking in general and have inherited this small VMWare kit from my company's previous IT staffer.  I understand from a bit of research that I should disconnect the fibre before performing the re-install, but this leaves me with two questions:

1) Will this affect the other running host?

2) After re-installing ESXi and configuring the host, will it "see" its LUNs after I reboot with the fibre plugged back in?

It would be nice to vMotion the critical VMs to my other host, re-install ESXi; then do the opposite with my second host.

Many thanks

[bolsen]

1. Yes, move all your VMs to the other host otherwise you'll have to reimport them from the datastores.

2. Unplugging the cables is the easiest way to be 100% sure your storage isn't effected during the upgrade.  However, you should know it's not mandatory.

3. As long as you don't change the fibre zoning, the LUNs will be there after the upgrade.  I recommend you plugin the cables when the server is powered off.  (You should also confirm the HBA firmware is up to date during the upgrade).

[cnrobertsSD]

Great, thank you!  I'll give it a go this week.

[Josh26]

Hi,

Just to add.

The only host configured option for FC storage is whether there are any custom multipathing rules. Just have a look at the path configuration and get a screenshot. It will most likely be "Most Recently Used" or "Fixed" or "ALUA".

[cnrobertsSD]

I ended up up reinstalling ESXi last night. All went very smoothly, especially once I realized that my hosts have internal USB flash for the hypervisor.  Very cool.

In any case, it was easier than I expected, as with the majority of VMWare operations.