topic Re: VMware vMotion and Snapdrive in Data Protection

VMware vMotion and Snapdrive

GLOBELEQ — Thu, 05 Jun 2025 06:09:43 GMT

Where do I start???

I have read quite a few documents out there on this topic so I am aware of the usual issues people may have. I would just like to know the following:

1) I am going to be using SMSQL including SnapDrive (dont think you can use SMSQL without Snapdrive actually). If I set this up on a VM within my VMware environment, will I have issues with vMotion? As I understand it as long as an ESXi host can see the LUNs vMotion should work. Does this mean I have to mount the iSCSI LUNs in VMware as well as the Windows machine?

2) What Fractional reserve and snapshot reserve should I set on the volume housing my LUN which I am mapping using Snapdrive?

Thanks guys

Gav

Re: VMware vMotion and Snapdrive

radek_kubka — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 17:55:42 GMT

Hi Gav,

1) VMotion will work. SnapDrive (since version 6.2?) integrates with vCenter, so you provision your LUNs (as RDMs) in one place only.

2) The 'modern' (official) recommendation says set fractional reserve to 0% & use volume aoutosize & snap autodelete. The 'old school' says set it to 100% - less usable storage (a LUN can't be bigger than 50% of the size of the volume), but still perceived by many folks ad more secure.

Regards,

Radek

Re: VMware vMotion and Snapdrive

GLOBELEQ — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 08:39:01 GMT

Thatnks Radek for your reply. This makes sense but where do I create the LUN in this case? Do I provision the LUN using netapp or using VMware? Please note when I create the LUN using vmware it creates its own iSCSI initiator group. I was under the impression from the documentation on snapdrive I should create the LUN in netapp, add the windows machine to an initiator group and thats it.

Fractional reserve I have been setting at 0% so this is ok.

Re: VMware vMotion and Snapdrive

radek_kubka — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 10:54:29 GMT

I would provision LUNs from SnapDrive

SnapDrive can create igroups automatically, but I prefer to do it manually on the filer upfront - e.g. to give them some meaningful names. When you use RDMs, iSCSI intiators of ESX hosts are important, not in-guest ones.

Re: VMware vMotion and Snapdrive

GLOBELEQ — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 11:22:42 GMT

Thanks Radek. That was helpful. I am making headway now.