Storage DRS allows you to manage the aggregated resources of a datastore cluster. When Storage DRS is activated, it provides recommendations for virtual machine disk placement and migration to balance space and I/O resources across the datastores in the datastore cluster.

When you activate Storage DRS, you activate the following functions.
  • Space load balancing among datastores within a datastore cluster.
  • I/O load balancing among datastores within a datastore cluster.
  • Initial placement for virtual disks based on space and I/O workload.

The Enable Storage DRS check box in the Datastore Cluster Settings dialog box activates or deactivates all of these components at once. If necessary, you can deactivate I/O-related functions of Storage DRS independently of space balancing functions.

When you deactivate Storage DRS on a datastore cluster, Storage DRS settings are preserved. When you activate Storage DRS, the settings for the datastore cluster are restored to the point where Storage DRS was deactivated.

Procedure

  1. Browse to the datastore cluster in the vSphere Web Client navigator.
  2. Click the Configure tab and click Services.
  3. Select Storage DRS and click Edit.
  4. Select Turn ON vSphere DRS and click OK.
  5. (Optional) To deactivate only I/O-related functions of Storage DRS, leaving space-related controls activated, perform the following steps.
    1. Under Storage DRS select Edit.
    2. Deselect the Enable I/O metric for Storage DRS check box and click OK.