Loading

×Sorry to interrupt
CSS Error

Refresh

Cookie Preference Center

General Information on cookies

When you visit our website, we use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience. This information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalized web experience. Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies by clicking on the different category headings to find out more and change your settings. However, blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on the site and the services we are able to offer. Further information can be found in our

Cookie Policy.

Strictly Necessary

Strictly Necessary

Always Active

Strictly Necessary

Strictly necessary cookies are always enabled since they are essential for our website to function. They enable core functionality such as security, network management, and website accessibility. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but this may affect how the website functions. For more information please visit www.aboutcookies.org or www.allaboutcookies.org.

Cookie Details‎

Performance

Performance

Performance

Performance cookies are used to analyze the user experience to improve our website by collecting and reporting information on how you use it. They allow us to know which pages are the most and least popular, see how visitors move around the site, optimize our website and make it easier to navigate.

Cookie Details‎

Please confirm your settings by refreshing the page.

Functional

Functional

Functional

Functional cookies help us keep track of your past browsing choices so we can improve usability and customize your experience. These cookies enable the website to remember your preferred settings, language preferences, location and other customizable elements such as font or text size. If you do not allow these cookies, then some or all of these services may not function properly.

Cookie Details‎

Advertising

Advertising

Advertising

Advertising cookies are used to send you relevant advertising and promotional information. They may be set through our site by third parties to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant advertisements on other sites. These cookies do not directly store personal information, but their function is based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device.

Cookie Details‎

Advertising Cookies

Consent Leg.Interest

Select All Vendors

Select All Vendors

Select All Hosts

Select All

Clear Filters

Information storage and access

Apply

Confirm My Choices Reject All Allow All

My Subscriptions

Loading

Knowledge Base

Configuring vendor-supported tape drives and media changers on VMware ESX/ESXi 4.x/5.x (1016407)

Last Updated: 3/20/2024Categories: How toTotal Views: 324722Language:
Chinese (Simplified)Portuguese (European)JapaneseSpanishEnglish

18 like this article

Subscribe to get an email
newsletter with new updates

18 people found this helpful Please provide article feedback:

Purpose

This article provides steps/instructions to configure vendor-supported tape drives and media changers so that virtual machines on ESX/ESXi 4.x and later hosts can access these devices. These instructions are provided with these caveats:

VMware does not provide support for backup tape drives and tape library devices or their functionality on ESXi/ESX hosts.

The functionality of the tape library and the backup software in conjunction with VMware ESXi/ESX is partner-supported.

VMware assumes that the third-party vendor has completed necessary validation to support this configuration in a production environment.

VMware does not maintain a hardware compatibility guide that includes tested tape devices.

Devices and configurations that worked on earlier releases of ESXi/ESX may not work with later ESXi releases.

If you encounter problems, open a support request with the third-party or partner vendor's support organization. VMware collaborates with other vendors through the Technical Support Alliance Network (TSANet) or a Cooperative Support Agreement (CSA). Third-party vendors that want to certify tape devices must do so through the Partner Verified and Supported Products (PVSP) program. This program provides a scalable opportunity for vendors to promote their promising technologies that cannot be certified through any of the existing VMware certification programs.

For more information, see Partner Verified and Supported Products (PVSP).

Resolution

Note: As per the vSphere 5.x Release Notes, VMware no longer supports Tape Drives connected directly to ESXi 5.x and later.

Note:- Support for tape devices

To configure a tape device with a virtual machine in ESXi/ESX 4.x:

Consult your backup hardware and software vendor to ensure that your tape device and backup software are supported to work with VMware ESXi/ESX 4.x.

Configure the tape device and controller according to the hardware vendor's guidelines.

Connect the vSphere Client to vCenter Server or an ESXi/ESX host.

Click the ESXi/ESX host to which the hardware is connected.

Click Configuration > Storage Adapters.

On the Storage Adapters list, identify the controller that has the tape attached.

Under Details, record the Runtime Name of the tape device (for example, vmhba2:C0:T1:L0). For more information about the Runtime Name, see Identifying disks when working with VMware ESX (1014953).

Select the virtual machine that use the tape device, and click Summary > Edit Settings.

Click Hardware > Add.

Select SCSI Device from the list of device types and click Next.

Select the appropriate device from the SCSI Device dropdown menu.

Select Virtual Device Node that matches the Target of the Runtime Name of the device, as recorded in step 7.

The Virtual Device Nodes are denoted as <Bus>:<Target>.

For example: The Runtime Name vmhba2:C0:T1:L0 corresponds with a Virtual Device Node of (1:1), (2:1), or (3:1) as the Target is 1(T1) .

Warning: For clarification, (0:1) is also available for configuration. However, this bus is usually already populated by a virtual disk in a typical virtual machine setup. As tape operations by nature are quite disruptive for devices on the same bus, to avoid interruption, ensure that the tape devices' target IDs are on a separate bus from the other virtual machine disks attached to the virtual machine. For example, bus (0:x) can have several virtual machine disks, while bus (1:x) has the tape pass-through device(s).

Install and configure the backup software according to the software vendor's guidelines.

Note: ESXi/ESX supports vendor-supported parallel SCSI tape drives and tape libraries only. If you are using a tape drive library (versus using a stand-alone tape drive), the library must be multi-target, and not multi-LUN. Ensure that the tape drive's virtual target ID in the virtual machine's configuration is set to be the same as the physical target ID.

Related Information

Requirements while configuring vendor-supported tape drives and media changers

The tape hardware must be connected to a VMWare-supported Adaptec SCSI controller.

The tape hardware must be SCSI ID addressed and cannot be LUN addressed.

The virtual and physical SCSI IDs must match each other.

Tape devices should not share a BUS with any other non-tape device and should be given their own dedicated SCSI controller.

The SCSI controller for the guest virtual machine should be configured as a LSI Logic SCSI card and not the BUS logic card.

BUS sharing must be disabled.

Limitations

Fiber connected tape devices are not supported.

Tape devices cannot be connected to RAID controllers.

Understanding support for tape devices with VMware ESXi and VMware ESX
Identifying disks when working with VMware ESXi/ESX
Tape device incorrectly detected as ALUA device on ESXi/ESX hosts
Cómo configurar Unidades de Cinta y Cambiadores de medio en ESX 4.x y ESXi 5.x
Como configurar unidades de fita e trocadores de mídia compatíveis com os fornecedores no ESX/ESXi 4.x e posteriores
在 ESX/ESXi 4.x/5.x 上配置受供应商支持的磁带驱动器和媒体更换器
ESX/ESXi 4.x 以降におけるベンダー サポートのテープ ドライブとメディア チェンジャーの構成

Detectable by VMware SkylineTM

Actions

Copy

link to clipboard
copied!

Print

Language:
Chinese (Simplified)Portuguese (European)JapaneseSpanishEnglish

Attachments

Additional Resources

KB
•
End Of General Availability of the Free vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi 7.x and 8.x) (2107518)

Result 1 of 1

Ask The Community

Get answers quickly from VMware experts in the community

Post Subject

CONTINUE IN COMMUNITIES

Related Products:

VMware vSphere ESXi

VMware ESX Server

Related Versions:

VMware ESXi 4.1.x Installable

VMware ESXi 4.1.x Embedded

VMware ESXi 4.0.x Installable

VMware ESXi 4.0.x Embedded

VMware ESX 4.1.x

VMware ESX 4.0.x

Take Our Survey

Support Assistant