VMDirectPathIO
Working with IO Accelerators and VMDirectPathIO
Each IO Accelerator device can either be used as a VMFS datastore in ESX or ESXi, or it can be passed through directly to a VM. In VMware documentation, passing through to a VM this is referred to as VMDirectPathIO.
If you are passing the devices through, you do not have to install the VSL on the ESX or ESXi system. Instead, install the software on the guest system. Install the driver only if you plan to create a VMFS on the devices.
When using VMDirectPathIO, if you upgrade the firmware on an IO Accelerator device, you must cycle the power to have the change take place. Restarting the VM will not apply the change.
Using products with multiple devices
Some products, such as the HP IO Accelerator ioDrive Duo, contain multiple devices. The VSL does not support splitting the modules between two functions or VMs. The following scenarios are supported:
•Both IO Accelerator devices are used as a VMFS datastore in ESX or ESXi.
•Both IO Accelerator devices are passed through to the same VM using VMDirectPathIO.
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