Why the VMware Paravirtual Adapter?

With the release of VMware vSphere comes a number of enhancements to deliver very high I/O performance.
One of these enhancements is the VMware Paravirtual SCSI adapter (PVSCSI). Various performance studies
have showed how the PVSCSI adapter is able to achieve 12% more through-put with 18% less CPU cost
compared to that of the LSI Logic virtual adapter.
The VMware report can be found here:
http://blogs.vmware.com/performance/2009/05/350000-io-operationsper-second-one-vsphere-host-with-30efds.html
With VMware guaranteeing that the PVSCSI adapter will only ever perform the same as the LSI logic virtual
adapter or better, it seems silly not to be utilising this new technology. In order to use a PVSCSI adapter, your
virtual machine must be using hardware version 7. If you create a virtual machine at a lower hardware level,
the PVSCSI option will not be available.
Prior to vSphere 4.0 update 1, PVSCSI adapters could not be used to support virtual machine boot disks. In
order to use PVSCSI, you had to configure the boot disk to use one of vSpheres other SCSI controller types and
then add the PVSCSI adapter solely to support additional virtual data drives added to the virtual machine.
Starting with vSphere 4.0 U1, PVSCSI can be used for virtual machine boot disks, too.

Whats supported?
Guest Operating System Data Disk Boot Disk
Windows Server 2008 R2 (64-bit only)
ESX/ESXi 4.0 Update 1 ESX/ESXi 4.0 Update 1
Windows Server 2008 (32 and 64 bit)
ESX/ESXi 4.X ESX/ESXi 4.0 Update 1 ESX/ESXi 4.1
Windows Server 2003 (32 and 64 bit)
ESX/ESXi 4.0 ESX/ESXi 4.1 ESX/ESXi 4.0 ESX/ESXi 4.1
Windows 7 (32 and 64 bit)
ESX/ESXi 4.1 ESX/ESXi 4.1
Windows Vista (32 and 64 bit)
ESX/ESXi 4.1 ESX/ESXi 4.1
Windows XP (32 and 64 bit)
ESX/ESXi 4.1 ESX/ESXi 4.1
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 5 (32 and 64 bit) and all update releases
ESX/ESXi 4.X Not Supported
RHEL 6 (32 and 64 bit)
ESX/ESXi 4.0 Update 2 ESX/ESXi 4.1 ESX/ESXi 4.0 Update 2 ESX/ESXi 4.1
SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 SP1(32and 64 bit) and later releases
ESX/ESXi 4.0 Update 2ESX/ESXi 4.1 ESX/ESXi 4.0 Update 2 ESX/ESXi 4.1
Ubuntu 10.04 (32 and 64 bit) and later releases
ESX/ESXi 4.0 Update 2 ESX/ESXi 4.1 ESX/ESXi 4.0 Update 2 ESX/ESXi 4.1
Distros using Linux version 2.6.33 or later and that include the vmw_pvscsi driver
ESX/ESXi 4.1 ESX/ESXi 4.1

When to use PVSCSI

Clearly, PVSCSI is an evolving technology, as evidenced by the fact that significant changes and enhancements
such as the addition of boot disk support are being introduced in minor vSphere updates.
As such, VMware provides some specific guidance with regard to the use of PVSCSI in new virtual machines.
When it comes to PVSCSI, VMware recommends that the new controller be used only for relatively high I/O
virtual machines. For low I/O virtual machines, VMware recommends that you stick with the tried and true LSI
Logic SCSI adapter.

When not to use PVSCSI

Although PVSCSI clearly provides major benefits, there are times when it is not a good choice. Most
importantly, if you have virtual machines configured for fault tolerance, you cant use PVSCSI. Moreover, if you
have a need to use Microsoft Cluster Service (MSCS), you need to choose a different SCSI adapter type.

Creating a VM using PVSCSI

1) From the vSphere Client, create a new virtual machine using the customer configuration option
2) Follow the wizard until you get to the virtual machine version page. On this page, ensure Virtual
Machine Version 7 is selected
3) Follow the wizard until the Operating System page. Ensure that a supported operating system is selected
4) Proceed to the SCSCI Controller page and select VMware Paravirtual
5) From here the rest of the wizard is the same as any other virtual machine creation
6) Once the virtual machine build process has started you will be prompted for a location to install Windows.
You will not be offered any disks to install the OS on to because the OS media will not contain the drivers for
VMwares paravirtual adapter. The drivers are available in the host data store
7) Click ctrl-alt to release your mouse from the VM. Click the icon of the floppy disk in vCenter and go to
Floppy drive 1 then Connect to floppy image on a datastore. When presented with the Browse
Datastores dialog box, navigate to vmimages > floppies and select the floppy image that suits the
guest OS
8) From the Windows Installation screen, select Load Driver on the following screen click Browse and
expand the floppy device. Choose the top level folder for the selected OS (32-bit (i386) or 64-bit
(amd64). Dont get confused about the name amd64. This is the driver that you should use on any 64bit version of Windows, regardless of what processor vendor youre using. AMD64 is a generic name for
64-bit systems)
9) Windows will now load the new driver and youll be able to choose the virtual hard drive that you
create when you created the virtual machine
10) Complete the Windows install

Adding a PVSCSI Adapter to an Existing Virtual Machine

PVSCSI is not just for new VMs. You might have a virtual SQL server, for example, that could benefit from the
performance gains offered by using PVSCSI.
In order to configure an existing virtual machine to use PVSCSI, the VM should have VMware Tools installed.
You first need to add a new hard drive to the system so that the new controller has something connected to it.
1) Open vCenter, right click on the target VM and select Edit Settings
2) From the Virtual Machine Settings page, click the Add button to add new hardware. When you get to the
Add Hardware page, select Hard Disk and click Next
3) Follow the on-screen steps to choose the size for the new virtual hard drive. When you get to the
Virtual Device Node option, its critical that you connect the hard drive to a separate virtual SCSI adapter. Do
not attach the hard drive to anything starting with a zero as this is generally the default SCSI adapter.
4) Continue with the remainder of the process. When you are done, notice that the device list now shows two
new devices: Your new hard drive as well as a new SCSI controller of the default LSI Logic type. The reason that
the new adapter was created is because we chose to attach the new hard drive to something other than the
default adapter
5) Now, select the new SCSI controller and click the Change Type button. On the Change SCSI Controller Type
window, choose VMware Paravirtual and click OK

6) Power on the VM and allow VMware tools to install the PVSCSI adapter, check Device Manager to ensure
the new SCSI adapter is present
7) Shutdown the VM, remove the secondary hard disk drive just added
8) Select the old SCSI controller and click the Change Type button. On the Change SCSI Controller Type
window, choose VMware Paravirtual and click OK