How do I mount an Thecus n8800 NFS datastore from ESXi4

[rmicone1]

OK so I'm not a novice, but the method of mounting an NFS datastore from ESXi4/vSphere 4 client is not intuitive... So I go to Storage -> Add Storage... I choose NFS (next), now I have 3 choices:

• Server

• Folder (which folder?) where to mount it on the esxi? or the folder on the NFS host?

• Datastore Name

The nfs share from the thecus n8800 is exporting out a share called "NFS_VM1" and it's browesable and I've got the IP of the esxi host in the acl of the thecus...

Can someone guide me as to what to put in those fields?

How come this vmware storage add wizard doesn't prompt me for login credentials? what login is the esxi host sending to the thecus? thanks for the help... screenshots are attached

[weinstein5]

First a couple general statement about NFS - your NFS server must NFS Version 3 over TCP and the no_root_squash parameter needs to be set - the ESX need root level access to the NFS share and it is not authenticated that is why best practice is to have the NFS connection on an isolated network and now to define:

• Server - is the IP address orFQN of you NFS server if it is defined DNS

• Folder - the Folder on you NFS server you are sharing

• Datastore Name - how the NFS mount will be idefined on the ESX server

All three must be filled out

If you find this or any other answer useful please consider awarding points by marking the answer correct or helpful

[rmicone1]

Thanks for the response, I am familiar with the linux way of exporting NFS volumes using root_no_squash, however thecus has reworded it so my choices are worded different... but I think you're right, i need to put it on it's own private subnet which means i need to get another NIC for my esxi Host...

after that I think it will be able to mount properly, but I will report back once I have the NIC installed.

i changed the NFS export option on the thecus to be "Guest system root

account will be mapped to anonymous user (nobody:nogroup) on NAS."

the 3 options are ...

:Guest system root account will have full access to this share (root:root).

:Guest system root account will be mapped to anonymous user (nobody:nogroup) on NAS.

:All User on guest system will be mapped to anonymous user (nobody:nogroup) on NAS.

but i guess i need to sort out the networking part on the thecus first... it won't even allow me to setup the LAN IP of the thecus on the same subnet as the management IP/Samba IP so that's enforced automatically on the thecus i guess, because when I try to set up a LAN IP on the thecus it gives me the error... "other Network Interface Device in the same segment" and reverts back to a 192.168.x.x IP

[golddiggie]

I think you're going to have more than a few issues getting the N8800 device to work fully/properly with ESXi 4...

The N8800Pro, N8800SAS and N8800+ are the only versions of that product that are VMware Ready (certified).

You could try using the N8800's iSCSI connection, but there's absolutely no guarantee that will work (same with the NFS connection)...

No matter what someone may say, without the VMware Ready/certified rating on a storage device you have no guarantee it will work. You could get lucky, but it's a risk. When you spend decent money on a storage device, I would want one that IS certified to work with the release of VMware I'm running, and have some kind of commitment from the maker to support future releases with that same device. Otherwise, it's time to look at another manufacturer's products...

VMware VCP4

Consider awarding points for "helpful" and/or "correct" answers.

[rmicone1]

hey golddiggie, that's an interesting point, i was under the impression it is VMware certified, however I guess I didn't look at the model# clearly when I bought it. Did you personally have a lot of issues working with this plain n8800 version? I have latest firmare for both the Thecus n8800 & the esxi host vsphere 4 build 236512

of course you're right, this is a production environment i'm going to build so i don't want any weird file level issues with the vm, so i will test.

I did find this post where this guy has been running it

http://communities.vmware.com/docs/DOC-11873;jsessionid=2854CAC1DEEC301283BA716C4F743D8C

the thecus specs were impressive and it holds 8 drives so that's why we went for it, got it for under $1400 on B&H photo

[golddiggie]

Noticed the line (right away):

Configuration Tested 8 x Hitachi HDE72105 Dirves in Raid 10 via 1Gb iSCSI

iSCSI is probably your best (possibly only) chance/option for that device.

Personally, if this was a configuration going into a business environment, I'd have them spend the cabbage to get a time proven business level solution for storage. I would go with iSCSI for the device (SAN, not NAS) and make sure it was done right. You almost never hear of someone complaining how a server is performing too well, or too fast and they want you to reduce it.

VMware VCP4

Consider awarding points for "helpful" and/or "correct" answers.

[rmicone1]

I see, ya know I went for NFS because tons of threads all over this site say NFS has better performance than iSCSI and is easier to implement... That said I have a Win2003R2 Storage server that can mount this n8800, so it won't 'go to waste' so to speak. I just may mean I will have to but the n8800+ for the vmware side. I have emailed Thecus support and want to get a clear answer as to if this n8800 model will ever be certified in a future firmware release? I'm not sure what the criteria is for it anyways... thanks for the help I will report back once I test more and get back info from their support.

[golddiggie]

Since they only hold up to eight drives (for the N8800 series models) I'd go for the N8800SAS. You might not be able to get it to 8TB (depending on what SAS drives you fill it with), but performance will be better than using SATA drives. The SAS model is the only one that lists being able to use either SAS or SATA drives inside it. All the rest list only SATA drives (even in their 'HDD compatibility list')...

VMware VCP4

Consider awarding points for "helpful" and/or "correct" answers.

[rmicone1]

I traded more than a few emails back and forth with Thecus support, they were very helpful, and here's what he said about vmware certification for the n8800 (plain, not SAS, +, or PRO)

N8800 has pretty much the same hardware as n8800SAS, except for the SAS drive support, and the CPU & Memory difference.

Marketing did not submit N8800 for certification as it is the original model.

The same firmware upgrade for N8800SAS is also for N8800, additionally we have VMware ESXi working very well on N8800.

Best Regards !

having said that, he recommeneded using the latest firmware.

By the way I was able to mount from vsphere by specifying the datastore on the thecus, (which doesn't display the path unfortunately)

/raid0/data/SHARE_NAME

raid"0" is actually just the first raid array that you create on the device, it confusingly has nothing to do with the raid level. I was putting in /raid10/data...

root access has to be enabled, so yes best practices would require that I put this on it's own little subnet, time to buy a couple PCIe gigabit cards!

thanks for your help

[PxPxger]

I had NFS working but now I cant add an NFS storage device from the Thecus N8800 PRO.  When I SSH into the ESX Server and tail the logs it says that NFS Server does not support NFS V3 over TCP.  However, it worked before.  I had a bunch of virtual machines running on that NFS store.  Any advice or tips.  VMware passed the issue off to Thecus which doesnt really have any support :smileyhappy:

[LesBarnes]

I'm using a Thecus N8800 (FW 3.05.02.2) with 8x2TB HDDs as an NFS datastore for VMware ESX 4.1 Update 1 to store very low IO VMs, or temporarily Inactive VMs.  I also use the N8800 NFS datastore to hold ISO files for installing stuff.  Since the N8800 RAID is limited to 5TB, I broke the 8 drives into two RAID-5 arrays and use one to hold ISOs and the other to hold VMs.  The N8800 (plain) doesn't have much horsepower and this firmware version doesn't allow load balancing across both NIC ports to work, so it's easy to overload the NAS box CPU or network channel, but that's what you get in a low end NAS device.

To set the N8800 to work as NFS:  Open System Network, NFS and Enable NFS (it's disabled by default).

Open Storage, Share Folder and create a folder to share as NFS.  (Take note of the Mount Point information since this will be used when adding the NFS datastore to ESX (aka Folder field below).)  Click NFS tab and Add the network that will connect to your ESX hosts NFS network (created below).  Remember, to help with your security, you can also just specify the individual hosts.  Click NFS tab and Edit the NFS network to set Privilege to Writable, OS Support to Linux, and finally ID Mapping (mine is set:  All User on guest system will be mapped to anonymous user (nobody:nogroup) on NAS.) which doesn't have any security but I counter that by building a dedicated network and allow only authorized NFS devices on it.

Using vSphere Client, on each ESX host(s):  Select Configuration tab, and add a VMkernel to a vSwitch.  (For best performance and security, create a dedicated vSwitch with at least 1 pNIC port, and add the VMkernal to the dedicated vSwitch).  Assign an IP Address to the VMkernel vNIC that corresponds to what you allowed on the N8800 NFS network.

Using vSphere Client, on each ESX host(s):  Select Configuration tab, and the Storage.  Choose Add Storage, then select Network File System option.  In the Properties screen, put the IP address of the N8800 in the Server field, as golddiggie described above, in the Folder field put /raid0/data/SHARE_NAME

That's about all there is to it.

[iklotzko]

Thank you for that very simple, easy to follow set of instructions. This worked perfectly on my new N6850 running esxi 5.1 on a baby-dragon (ish) setup.