In this IBM® Redbooks® publication, we compiled best practices for planning, designing, implementing, and maintaining IBM Midrange Storage Solutions. In this publication, we use IBM System Storage® DS5000 storage subsystem for the implementation procedures, and the same procedures can be used for implementations with DCS3700 or DS3500 storage subsystems. We also compiled configurations for a VMware ESX and VMware ESXi Server host environment.

Setting up an IBM Midrange Storage Subsystem is a challenging task. Our principal objective in this book is to provide you with a sufficient overview to effectively enable storage area network (SAN) storage and VMware. There is no single configuration that is satisfactory for every application or situation. However, the effectiveness of the VMware implementation is enabled by careful planning and consideration. Although the compilation of this publication is derived from an actual setup and verification, we did not stress test or test for all possible use cases that are used in a limited configuration assessment.

Because of the highly customizable nature of a VMware ESXi host environment, you must consider your specific environment and equipment to achieve optimal performance from an IBM Midrange Storage Subsystem. When you are weighing the recommendations in this publication, you must start with the first principles of input/output (I/O) performance tuning. Each environment is unique and the correct settings that are used depend on the specific goals, configurations, and demands for the specific environment.

This publication is intended for technical professionals who want to deploy VMware ESXi and VMware ESX Servers with IBM Midrange Storage Subsystems.

Part 1. Planning

Chapter 1. Introduction of IBM VMware Midrange Storage Solutions

Chapter 2. Security design of the VMware vSphere Infrastructure architecture

Chapter 3. Planning the VMware vSphere storage system design

Chapter 4. Planning the VMware vSphere Server design

Part 2. Configuration

Chapter 5. VMware ESXi Server and storage configuration

Chapter 6. VMware command-line tools for configuring vSphere ESXi storage

Chapter 7. IBM System Storage Plug-In for VMware vCenter

Chapter 8. VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM5) implementation

Chapter 9. VMware vSphere ESXi 5 advanced configuration and new features

Appendix A. VMware ESXi Fibre Channel configuration checklist