Specifics of Using SAN Storage with ESXi

Using a SAN with an ESXi host differs from a traditional SAN use in several ways.

When you use SAN storage with ESXi, the following considerations apply:

• You cannot use SAN administration tools to access operating systems of virtual machines that reside on the storage. With traditional tools, you can monitor only the VMware ESXi operating system. You use the vSphere Client to monitor virtual machines.
• The HBA visible to the SAN administration tools is part of the ESXi system, not part of the virtual machine.
• Typically, your ESXi system performs multipathing for you.