Storage Protocol Priority
If several protocols coexist, define a priority that determines which protocol is used during the snapshot.
The following cases require a decision on which protocol to use:
- ESX(i) Server has FC HBA and also with the iSCSI software enabled.
- ESX(i) Server software has iSCSI enabled, and virtual machine software iSCSI installed.
- ESX(i) Server has FC HBA with software iSCSI enabled, along with virtual machine software iSCSI installed.
The protocol to be used depends on the storageProtocol parameter of the
Volume Shadow Copy Service and Virtual Disk Service configuration and which protocols are available.
The priority among the various protocols is as follows:
- ESX(i) Server FC has the highest priority. If the storageProtocol parameter is set to auto, the Volume Shadow Copy Service and Virtual Disk Service first check if ESX(i) Server FC is available. The Volume Shadow Copy Service and Virtual Disk Service try other protocols only when the FC protocol is not available.
- Virtual machine software iSCSI has a higher priority to software iSCSI. If the storageProtocol parameter is set to auto or iSCSI and FC protocol is not available (no HBA or WWPNs not defined on storage), the Volume Shadow Copy Service and Virtual Disk Service first check if iSCSI is enabled on the virtual machine. The Volume Shadow Copy Service and Virtual Disk Service try ESX(i) Server software iSCSI only when the virtual machine software iSCSI is not available.