VMware Certified Professional - Data Center Virtualization (VCP-DCV) Practice Exam

What are two conditions required to use Worldwide Port Names (WWPNs) for storage access in VMs?

1. The switches in the fabric must be N-Port ID Virtualization aware.

2. The virtual machines must be using Virtual Machine Disk (VMDK).

3. The virtual machines must be using passthrough Raw Disk Mapping (RDMp).

4. The switches in the fabric must be Storage I/O Control aware.

The correct answer is: The switches in the fabric must be N-Port ID Virtualization aware.

Using Worldwide Port Names (WWPNs) for storage access in virtual machines requires specific conditions to ensure proper connectivity and functionality. One critical condition is that the switches in the fabric must be N-Port ID Virtualization (NPIV) aware. NPIV allows multiple virtual machines to share a single physical Fibre Channel port by providing each VM with its own unique WWPN. This capability is essential when working with virtualized environments where multiple VMs may need direct access to storage devices through the Fibre Channel fabric. The awareness of NPIV in switches is vital for enabling this functionality, as it ensures that the switch can correctly route traffic to the appropriate storage resources based on the individual WWPNs assigned to each virtual machine. Without NPIV support, the benefits of WWPNs cannot be fully realized, limiting the ability to utilize the underlying storage infrastructure efficiently. Other options, while related to storage configurations in a virtual environment, do not directly pertain to the requirements for using WWPNs. For instance, the use of VMDK or passthrough Raw Disk Mapping is more focused on how storage is presented to virtual machines, but does not impact the necessary support for NPIV in the fabric, which is the key condition for using WWPNs effectively.