Create NFS Datastore for ESX in WIndows Server 2008 R2

Due to the lower cost-per-port for IP based storage, many organizations prefer to use and deploy the virtualization environments with Network Attached Storage (NAS) shared storage resources. Due to that, ESXi can access a designated NFS volume located on a NAS server, mount the volume, and use it for its storage needs. You can use NFS volumes to store and boot virtual machines in the same way that you use VMFS datastores. VMware introduced the support of IP based storage in release 3 of the ESX server. Prior to that release, the only option for shared storage pools was Fibre Channel (FC). The capabilities of VMware vSphere 4 on Network File System are very similar to the VMware vSphere on block-based storage. VMware offers support for almost all features and functions on Network File System as it does for vSphere on SAN. In this article, I will explain step by step procedure to configure NFS share in windows 2008 R2 to use with ESX data store.

Adding NFS Share Role in Windows

Choose Start -> Administrative Tools -> Server Manager. I have already File services installed on my windows server with default options. So, Go to file services role and click on add Role services and select “services for network file system”

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Click on Install to start the installation of Network File System on the Windows Server.

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Click on close to close the installation wizard of Network File System installation.

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Create a folder called “nfstest”. Right click the folder and click on properties

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Click on the “NFS sharing” tab and click on “Manage NFS Sharing”

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Select the check mark  “Share this folder” and remove the check mark Kerberos V5 integrity and authentication  & Kerberos V5 authentication.

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Select the Allow anonymous access and click on Permissions tab

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In Type of Access , choose “Read-Write” and check mark the Allow Root access and apply ok.

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Adding  the NFS datastore to ESX\ESXi host

Make sure you have vmkernel port is configured in your ESX/ESXi host.

Goto Configuration Tab and select Storage. Click on Add storage.

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Select Network File system.

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Enter the Fully qualified domain name of the server or IP address, share name and Datastore name. Click on Next.

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NFS datastore named “NFS DATASTORE” is created.

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