Allocating vSphere Flash Read Cache to a virtual machine

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

This article provides steps to assign Flash Read Cache resources to a virtual machine disk.

For more information, see the vSphere 5.5 documentation. The documentation contains definitive information. If there is a discrepancy between the documentation and this article, assume that the documentation is correct.

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 5.5
VMware vCenter Server 5.5.x

Resolution

Configuring a virtual machine with a vSphere Flash Read Cache

To configure a virtual machine disk with a vSphere Flash Read Cache resource:

1. Open the vSphere 5.5 Web Client.
2. Click the Hosts and Clusters view.
3. Select the ESXi host on which the virtual machine is running.
4. In the Summary view under Hardware, verify and ensure that the host has a Virtual Flash Resource configured.
5. Click the Related Objects tab.
6. Right-click the virtual machine and Click Edit Settings.
7. Select and expand the hard disk to which you want to assign the Flash Read Cache. For example, Hard disk 1.
8. Enter the amount of Flash Read Cache to assign to the virtual hard disk (vmdk).
9. Click OK, to apply the changes.

Note: You can also use these advanced options while configuring the virtual machine with a vSphere Flash Read Cache resource:

• Reservation – The amount of allocated cache.
• Block Size – Used to configure the block size for the Flash Read Cache for this virtual disk. To ensure maximum performance, it is recommended to choose a block size that matches the block size of the majority of input output that will be running in the virtual machine.

Verifying if the vSphere Flash Read Cache is added to the virtual machine

To verify if the vSphere Flash Read Cache is added to the virtual machine:

1. In the Hosts and Clusters view, select the virtual machine.
2. Click the Summary tab.
3. Select and expand the hard disk.
4. Verify the amount of assigned vSphere Flash Read Cache is correct.

Additional Information

Adjusting the amount of vSphere Flash Read Cache resources assigned to a virtual machine disk
Disabling vSphere Flash Read Cache caching in a virtual machine
为虚拟机分配 vSphere Flash Read Cache