Enabling data services that I/O filters provide is a two-step process. You create a virtual machine policy based on data services that the I/O filters provide, and then attach this policy to a virtual machine.

Prerequisites

For the caching I/O filters, configure the virtual flash resource on your ESXi host before activating the filter. See Set Up Virtual Flash Resource.

Procedure

  1. Define a VM policy based on I/O filter services.
    Make sure that the virtual machine policy lists data services provided by the I/O filters.

    See Create a VM Storage Policy for Host-Based Data Services.

  2. Assign the I/O filter policy to a virtual machine.
    To activate data services that the I/O filter provides, associate the I/O filter policy with virtual disks. You can assign the policy when you provision the virtual machine.

    See Assign the I/O Filter Policy to Virtual Machines.

What to do next

If you later want to disable the I/O filter for a virtual machine, you can remove the filter rules from the VM storage policy and re-apply the policy. See Edit or Clone a VM Storage Policy. Or you can edit the settings of the virtual machine and select a different storage policy that does not include the filter.