[Info-vax] Hypervisors and clusters

Mark Berryman mark at theberrymans.com
Fri Jan 22 20:11:52 EST 2021


As far as I know, there are currently only two ways to build a VMS 
cluster where every node has direct access to storage - either a shared 
SCSI cluster or using SAN-based storage.

I can't use a NAS because the only protocols on a NAS that present a raw 
disk to the host are iSCSI and fibre channel.  If I try to run the iSCSI 
initiator on a current version VMS, it crashes the system.  If there is 
a NAS out there that offers fibre channel support usable by VMS, I 
haven't found it.

My cluster is currently SAN-based.  That means that all disks are named 
$1$DGAn:  That means that, in order for a virtual host to join this 
cluster and have direct access to the storage, the virtual host has to 
think it is talking to an HBA.  It can't be something mapped to a disk 
available to the host system.  Are there any hypervisors out there that 
will pass access to a local HBA directly to the guest host?  If so, does 
the guest host need a driver for that specific HBA or does the 
hypervisor map it somehow?

My specific situation:

All of my non-VMS systems are Macs.  I have no Windows, Linux, or other 
systems.  The HBA on the Macs is plugged into a thunderbolt port.  Now, 
since I doubt thunderbolt support is being added to VMS as part of the 
port, I'm wondering if a virtual host is going to work for me.

If so, great.  If not, is it known yet what generations of the DL380 are 
going to be known to work with VMS 9.1 or 9.2?

Mark Berryman



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