Configure Storage I/O Control Support in a Provider VDC

If you want to enable specification of hard disk read/write performance by members of an organization, a Provider VDC that supports the organization must include a storage profile that is backed by an appropriately configured vSphere datastore.

Managed read/write performance in physical storage devices and virtual disks is defined in units called IOPS, which measure read/write operations per second. When an organization VDC storage profile is backed by a Provider VDC storage profile that includes storage devices that are capable of IOPS allocation, you can configure disks that use it to request a specified level of I/O performance. A storage profile configured with IOPS support delivers its default IOPS value to all disks that use it, even disks that are not configured to request a specific IOPS value. A hard disk configured to request a specific IOPS value cannot use a storage profile whose maximum IOPS value is lower than the requested value, or a storage profile that is not configured with IOPS support.

When backed by an appropriately configured Provider VDC storage profile, storage profiles in an organization VDC can be configured to support delivery of a specified level of I/O performance to disks that use them. See Configure Storage I/O Control Support in an Organization VDC. See the VMware Cloud Director API Programming Guide for information about configuring storage I/O control support in an organization VDC.

Prerequisites

This operation is restricted to system administrators.

Procedure

1. Choose or create an appropriately configured vSphere storage policy.
   Before VMware Cloud Director can enable IOPS for a Provider VDC storage profile, an IOPS-enabled vSphere storage policy must exist on a vCenter server registered to VMware Cloud Director.

   • The storage devices backing the underlying vSphere datastores must be capable of IOPS support.
     Note: You cannot enable IOPS support on a VMware Virtual SAN datastore.
   • A vSphere administrator must configure the datastores with a specific vSphere custom field and value, as described in VMware Knowledge Base article http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2148300
   • A vSphere administrator must create a vSphere storage policy that includes the IOPS-capable datastore.
2. Include the IOPS-capable vSphere storage profile in a Provider VDC.
   Reference the IOPS-capable vSphere storage profile by name in a ProviderVdcStorageProfile element in the VMWProviderVdcParams request body you use when creating a Provider VDC or in the UpdateProviderVdcStorageProfiles element in an updateStorageProfiles request body you use when updating Provider VDC storage profiles.