The benefits of vVols are rooted in the increased storage granularity achieved by implementing each vVol-based virtual disk as a separate volume on the array. This property makes it possible to apply array-based features to individual vVols.
FlashArray Organization of vVols
FlashArrays organize the vVols associated with each vVol-based VM as a volume group. Each time VMware administrator creates a vVol-based VM, the hosting FlashArray creates a volume group with the following naming schema: vvol-{VM Name}-{unique 8 character string}-vg
FlashArray syntax limits volume group names to letters, numbers and dashes; arrays remove other characters that are valid in virtual machine names during volume group creation. The length of the volume group name is limited between 1 and 63 characters. In the event that the VM name is longer than 46 characters the VM name will be truncated as part of the volume group name.
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Volume Groups Area of GUI Volumes Tab
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To list the volumes associated with a vVol-based VM, select the Storage view Volumes tab. In the Volume Groups area, select the volume group name containing the VM name from the list or enter the VM name in the search box.
The Volumes area of the pane lists the volumes associated with the VM.
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GUI View of Volume Group Membership
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Clicking a volume name displays additional detail about the selected volume.
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GUI View of a vVol's Details
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Clicking the volume group name in the navigation breadcrumbs returns to the volume groups display.
As with all FlashArray data objects, destroying a volume group moves it to the array’s Destroyed Volume Groups folder for 24 hours before eradicating it permanently.
To recover or eradicate a destroyed volume group, click the respective icons in the Destroyed Volume Groups pane. A destroyed volume group can only be eradicated if all objects in that volume group have already been eradicated.
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FlashArray GUI Destroyed Volume Groups View
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The FlashArray CLI and REST interfaces can also be used to manage volume groups of vVols.