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Dell EMC PowerStore: create a volume and host mapping

Dell EMC PowerStore arrays offer a unified storage platform, consolidating block, file, and VMware vVols storage. Provisioning block storage for servers,…

Dell EMC PowerStore arrays offer a unified storage platform, consolidating block, file, and VMware vVols storage. Provisioning block storage for servers, particularly VMware ESXi hosts, involves creating volumes and establishing host mappings. This article details the process for creating a PowerStore volume, configuring its access, and integrating it with an ESXi environment.

Understanding PowerStore Volumes and Host Access

In PowerStore, block storage is provisioned as volumes, which are logical units of storage presented to hosts. For a host to access a volume, a host object must be created on the PowerStore array, and the volume must be explicitly mapped to that host. This mapping specifies the access control—which host can see which volume.

Host Connectivity Requirements

Before creating and mapping volumes, ensure your hosts are properly connected to the PowerStore array. This typically involves Fibre Channel (FC) or iSCSI connectivity.

  • Fibre Channel: HBA WWNs (World Wide Names) must be registered with PowerStore. PowerStore T models support 16Gb/s and 32Gb/s FC. PowerStore X models support 16Gb/s FC.
  • iSCSI: Host iSCSI initiators (IQNs - iSCSI Qualified Names) must be configured on the host and registered with PowerStore. PowerStore supports 10GbE and 25GbE iSCSI. Ensure your network configuration allows iSCSI traffic between hosts and PowerStore data ports.

Creating a New Volume in PowerStore Manager

The primary interface for managing PowerStore is the PowerStore Manager GUI. Access it via a web browser using the array's management IP address.

Step-by-Step Volume Creation

  1. Navigate to Storage > Volumes in the PowerStore Manager GUI.
  2. Click the Create button. The "Create Volumes" wizard will appear.
  3. Basic Information:
    • Name: Provide a unique, descriptive name for the volume (e.g., ESXi_Datastore01, App_DB_Volume).
    • Description (Optional): Add any relevant details.
    • Size: Specify the desired capacity in GiB or TiB. For ESXi datastores, common sizes range from 500GiB to several TiB. PowerStore volumes are thinly provisioned by default.
    • Number of Volumes: You can create multiple volumes with identical settings simultaneously. For this guide, we'll assume creating a single volume.
  4. Performance & Data Protection (Optional):
    • Performance Policy: PowerStore uses an adaptive block size. Generally, leave this at the default Optimized. For specific workloads, you might consider Fine-Grain (for very small, random I/O) or Coarse-Grain (for large, sequential I/O), but careful testing is recommended. As of PowerStoreOS 3.0, block sizes are dynamically handled, making manual tuning less critical for most use cases.
    • Protection Policy: Attach a snapshot or replication policy if required. For a new volume, you might attach a snapshot policy later or create one now. For example, a policy named Daily_Snapshots could be applied here.
  5. Advanced Settings (Optional):
    • Host I/O Limits: Configure QoS limits (IOPS or bandwidth) if specific performance tiers are needed for this volume. For example, setting a hard limit of 5,000 IOPS and 100 MB/s.
    • NFS Export / SMB Share: This section is for file system creation. For block volumes, ignore this.
  6. Review your settings and click Create Volume.

The volume will be created and appear in the Volumes list. Note its World Wide Name (WWN) and Logical Unit Number (LUN ID), which will be assigned automatically. PowerStore automatically assigns a unique LUN ID for each volume mapped to a host, starting from 0, up to a maximum of 255. It's best practice to let PowerStore assign LUN IDs automatically.

# Example CLI command (PowerStore pstcli) for volume creation
# Note: Use pstcli in a management shell or via SSH to the PowerStore array
# This example creates a 1000 GiB volume named 'esxi_datastore_02'
pstcli -d admin -p <password> volume create --name esxi_datastore_02 --size 1000GiB
# Output might look like:
# {
#   "id": "A1B2C3D4-E5F6-7890-ABCD-EF1234567890",
#   "name": "esxi_datastore_02"
# }

Mapping the Volume to a Host

After creating the volume, it must be mapped to the appropriate host(s). This makes the volume visible to the host's operating system or hypervisor.

Step-by-Step Volume Mapping

  1. From the Storage > Volumes list, select the newly created volume.
  2. In the volume details pane, navigate to the Host Access tab.
  3. Click Map Volume.
  4. Select Hosts:
    • Choose one or more existing hosts from the list. If your host is not listed, you must first create a host object.
    • To create a new host: Click Add Host.
      • Name: Enter a descriptive name (e.g., ESXi_Host_01).
      • OS Type: Select the operating system (e.g., VMware ESXi). This optimizes PowerStore settings for the OS.
      • Connection Type: Select iSCSI or Fibre Channel.
      • Add Initiators:
        • For iSCSI: Enter the host's iSCSI IQN (e.g., iqn.1998-01.com.vmware:esxi-host-01-abcdef01). Add multiple IQNs if the host has redundant iSCSI paths.
        • For Fibre Channel: Enter the host's HBA WWN(s) (e.g., 21:00:00:24:FF:63:F5:F4). Add both port WWNs if the host has redundant HBAs/ports.
      • Click Add to create the host object, then select it for mapping.
  5. Click Map.

The volume is now mapped to the selected host. The LUN ID (sometimes referred to as Host LUN ID or HLUN) assigned by PowerStore will be displayed in the Host Access tab. This is the identifier the host will use to refer to this specific volume.

# Example CLI command (PowerStore pstcli) for host creation and volume mapping
# 1. Create a host object (replace with actual IQN or WWN)
pstcli -d admin -p <password> host create --name ESXi_Host_03 --os_type Vmware_Esxi --initiators iqn.1998-01.com.vmware:esxi-host-03-aabbccdd
# Output: {"id": "HOST_ID_03"}

# 2. Map the volume (using volume name and host name)
pstcli -d admin -p <password> volume map --volume_name esxi_datastore_02 --host_name ESXi_Host_03
# Output: {"lun_id": 0} (LUN ID assigned to the volume for this host)

Integrating with VMware ESXi

Once the volume is mapped on the PowerStore array, the ESXi host needs to discover this new storage.

Rescanning Storage Adapters

  1. Log in to your vCenter Server or directly to the ESXi host using the vSphere Client.
  2. Navigate to Host > Configure > Storage Adapters.
  3. Select each relevant Fibre Channel HBA (e.g., vmhba1, vmhba2) or iSCSI adapter (e.g., vmhba64).
  4. Click the Rescan Storage Adapters icon (the circular arrows) or right-click the adapter and select Rescan Storage.
    • Select Scan for new storage devices.
    • Select Scan for new VMFS volumes and datastores.
    • Click OK.

After the rescan, the new PowerStore volume should appear under Devices as a new disk. The name will typically start with DGC or PowerStore, followed by its serial number or WWN.

You can verify its properties, including the assigned LUN ID (which matches the LUN ID assigned by PowerStore to that host) and its capacity.

Creating a New Datastore

With the volume discovered, you can now create a VMFS datastore on it.

  1. Navigate to Host > Configure > Datastores.
  2. Click the New Datastore icon.
  3. Type: Select VMFS. Click Next.
  4. Select device: Choose the newly discovered PowerStore volume. It should show the correct vendor (Dell), model (PowerStore), and capacity. Click Next.
  5. VMFS version: Select VMFS 6 (recommended for new datastores). Click Next.
  6. Datastore properties:
    • Datastore name: Provide a descriptive name (e.g., PowerStore_DS01).
    • Partitioning: Select Use full disk. Keep the default block size (1MB for VMFS 6).
  7. Review the settings and click Finish.

The new datastore will now appear in your list of datastores and is ready for use with virtual machines.

Common Pitfalls and Troubleshooting

  • Host not seeing the volume:
    • Verify initiator registration: Double-check that the correct HBA WWNs or iSCSI IQNs are registered for the host in PowerStore Manager. Case sensitivity for IQNs matters.
    • Check network connectivity: For iSCSI, ensure pingability between host and PowerStore iSCSI data IPs. Check VLANs, firewalls, and switch port configurations.
    • Zoning (FC): Ensure FC switch zoning allows communication between host HBAs and PowerStore FC ports.
    • Rescan: Always perform a storage rescan on the ESXi host after mapping a volume.
    • Check PowerStore alerts: Look for any connectivity or configuration alerts on the PowerStore array itself.
  • Volume created but not mappable: Ensure the host object exists and its initiators are correctly configured. A host with no registered initiators cannot have volumes mapped to it.
  • Incorrect LUN ID: While PowerStore assigns LUN IDs automatically and consistently for a given host, ensure you're not confusing PowerStore's internal volume ID with the host-specific LUN ID. The LUN ID displayed in the Host Access tab of the volume in PowerStore Manager is what the host will see.
  • Performance issues:
    • Verify multi-pathing: Ensure ESXi sees multiple paths to the PowerStore volume and that the NMP (Native Multipathing Plugin) or third-party PSP (Path Selection Policy) is configured correctly (e.g., Round Robin for active/active arrays like PowerStore).
    • Check host HBA/NIC drivers and firmware.
    • Monitor PowerStore performance metrics for the specific volume and overall array utilization.
  • ESXi cannot create VMFS datastore: This often indicates the host sees the device but cannot write to it, usually due to a missing or misconfigured initiator, or a connectivity issue preventing write access.

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