When your ESXi host connects to block-based storage systems, LUNs or storage devices that support ESXi become available to the host.
After the devices get registered with your host, you can display all available local and networked devices and review their information. If you use third-party multipathing plug-ins, the storage devices available through the plug-ins also appear on the list.
Note: If an array supports implicit asymmetric logical unit access (ALUA) and has only standby paths, the registration of the device fails. The device can register with the host after the target activates a standby path and the host detects it as active. The advanced system
/Disk/FailDiskRegistration parameter controls this behavior of the host.
For each storage adapter, you can display a separate list of storage devices available for this adapter.
Generally, when you review storage devices, you see the following information.
| Storage Device Information | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Also called Display Name. It is a name that the ESXi host assigns to the device based on the storage type and manufacturer. Generally, you can change this name to a name of your choice. See Rename Storage Devices. |
| Identifier | A universally unique identifier that is intrinsic to the device. See ESXi Storage Device Names and Identifiers. |
| Operational State | Indicates whether the device is attached or detached. See Detach Storage Devices. |
| LUN | Logical Unit Number (LUN) within the SCSI target. The LUN number is provided by the storage system. If a target has only one LUN, the LUN number is always zero (0). See Target and Device Representations. |
| Type | Type of device, for example, disk or CD-ROM. |
| Drive Type | Information about whether the device is a flash drive or a regular HDD drive. For information about flash drives and NVMe devices, see Using Flash Devices with ESXi Hosts. |
| Transport | Transportation protocol your host uses to access the device. The protocol depends on the type of storage being used. See What Types of Physical Storage Does ESXi Support. |
| Capacity | Total capacity of the storage device. |
| Owner | The plug-in, such as the NMP or a third-party plug-in, that the host uses to manage paths to the storage device. See Using Pluggable Storage Architecture and Path Management with ESXi. |
| Hardware Acceleration | Information about whether the storage device assists the host with virtual machine management operations. The status can be Supported, Not Supported, or Unknown. See Storage Hardware Acceleration in vSphere. |
| Sector Format | Indicates whether the device uses a traditional, 512n, or advanced sector format, such as 512e or 4Kn. See Device Sector Formats. |
| Location | A path to the storage device in the /vmfs/devices/ directory. |
| Partition Format | A partition scheme used by the storage device. It can be of a master boot record (MBR) or GUID partition table (GPT) format. The GPT devices can support datastores greater than 2 TB. See Device Sector Formats. |
| Partitions | Primary and logical partitions, including a VMFS datastore, if configured. See Working with Datastores in vSphere Storage Environment. |
| Multipathing Policies | Path Selection Policy and Storage Array Type Policy the host uses to manage paths to storage. See Understanding Multipathing and Failover in the ESXi Environment. |
| Paths | Paths used to access storage and their status. See Deactivate Storage Paths. |
Display Storage Devices for an ESXi Host
Display all storage devices available to a ESXi host. If you use any third-party multipathing plug-ins, the storage devices available through the plug-ins also appear on the list.
The Storage Devices view allows you to list the hosts' storage devices, analyze their information, and modify properties.
Procedure
Display Storage Devices for an Adapter
Display a list of storage devices accessible through a specific storage adapter on an ESXi host.
