topic dedup iSCSI volume containing ESX datastore in VMware Solutions Discussions

dedup iSCSI volume containing ESX datastore

doug_dockter — Thu, 05 Jun 2025 07:19:04 GMT

Can you run dedup on an volume containing an ESX datastore (iSCSI LUN) while the ESX host is running?

Re: dedup iSCSI volume containing ESX datastore

__frostbyte_9045 — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:13:41 GMT

Yes you can. sis runs as a background (schedue-able) service on the filer and ESX is not aware of the process. System manager gives you a good view of storage utilization before and after (I like charts).

Re: dedup iSCSI volume containing ESX datastore

doug_dockter — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:14:42 GMT

Thanks.

Re: dedup iSCSI volume containing ESX datastore

radek_kubka — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 22:24:31 GMT

Be wary though SIS is fairly resource-intensive, especially during the first run, when fingerprints of all 4k blocks get created.

So although ESX server won't be aware of what's exactly going on, your performance during de-dupe scan may suck

I'd schedule it for out of normal business hours (assuming you don't operate 24/7).

Regards,
Radek