Is it supported to map a single LUN to multiple ESXi hosts across different clusters?

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

This article explains whether it is supported to map a single LUN to multiple ESXi hosts across different clusters.

Environment

• VMware vSphere ESXi 8.0.x
• VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0.x

Resolution

It is not a best practice to map a single LUN to multiple ESXi hosts across different clusters, however, it is technically possible to do so.

Note: Please ensure you are aware of the following key conditions:

• VMFS Locking Mechanism: Ensure that the VMFS locking mechanism is configured identically across all nodes in both Cluster 1 and Cluster 2 to prevent potential data corruption.
• Consistent storage protocol: Verify that the same storage protocol is used for accessing the LUNs across all hosts to maintain compatibility and performance.
• Host or Cluster level storage rescan requirement: Whenever expanding or increasing the storage capacity of the LUN, storage rescan must be performed on all ESXi hosts that share the LUN across both Cluster 1 and Cluster 2 to ensure proper recognition of the new space.