Before data can be migrated from a VMFS Datastore to a vVol Datastore, it is recommended that the FlashArray plugin be installed in vCenter, in order to simplify vVol administration.
The following document goes through the steps to install the FlashArray plugin in vCenter, and to register the FlashArray VASA provider with vCenter:
Web Guide: Virtual Volumes Quick Start Guide
When the steps in the document at the above link are followed to install the FlashArray plugin in vCenter, and to register the VASA provider with vCenter, a Protocol Endpoint called pure-protocol-endpoint is automatically created on the FlashArray.
To verify the existence of the protocol endpoint, select the ESXi host in vCenter, and go to Protocol Endpoints under Configure. The Protocol Endpoint should be visible, as shown below:
If the Protocol Endpoint doesn't exist, contact Everpure Support for troubleshooting help.
After the steps above have been completed, a vVol Datastore should be created.
Creating a VVol Datastore
The next step is to create a vVol Datastore. This can be done using the following steps. Right-click on the host or the host cluster, and select New Datastore under Storage:
Select the VVol option for the datastore type:
Specify a name for the new vVol Datastore; select the vVol container for the FlashArray; and click Next: In this example, we are creating a vVol Datastore called Vvol-TMEFA07-DS:
Select the host or host cluster that will have access to the vVol Datastore:
Review the summary, and click Finish to create the datastore:
View the list of datastores for the ESXi host to verify that the newly created vVol Datastore called Vvol-TMEFA07-DS has been created:
Migrating the VM to the VVol Datastore
After the vVol Datastore has been created, the next step is to migrate the storage for the SQLSrv-2019 VM to the vVol Datastore called Vvol-TMEFA07-DS. Right click on the VM SQLSrv-2019 and select the Migrate option:
Select the Change Storage option. The option to change both compute and storage can also be used, if desired:
Select the vVol Datastore called Vvol-TMEFA07-DS as the storage destination, and click Next:
Review the summary and click Finish to migrate the storage for the SQLSrv-2019 VM to the Vvol-TMEFA07-DS Datastore:
When the migration is complete, verify that the datastore for the VM SQLSrv-2019 is now the vVol Datastore Vvol-TMEFA07-DS as shown below:
After the datastore for the VM SQLSrv-2019 has been migrated from VMFS to the vVol Datastore, the VM can be replicated to an Everpure Cloud Dedicated instance in AWS.