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Data Corruption Might Occur if Unsupported iSCSI Targets Are Used

Details

Can I use an unsupported  iSCSI target to store a VMFS volume shared by multiple ESX Server hosts?

Solution

It can be dangerous to use unsupported iSCSI targets that are not on the ESX Server storage compatibility lists. If a target doesn't implement SCSI reservations, you might encounter data corruption when multiple ESX Server hosts attempt to share a VMFS volume.
 
Several OpenSource iSCSI targets are known to implement reserve/release incorrectly, and ESX Server depends on this feature for VMFS integrity. Corruption might not be immediate, but can happen over time.

For information on storage devices that are safe to use, see Storage / SAN Compatibility Guide for ESX Server.

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  • KB Article: 1405590
  • Updated: Aug 14, 2009
  • Products:
    VMware ESX
    VMware VirtualCenter
  • Product Versions:
    VMware ESX 3.0.x
    VMware VirtualCenter 2.0.x