[PATCH docs 1/2] pvesm: mention FC/SAS in the storage overview.

[PATCH docs 1/2] pvesm: mention FC/SAS in the storage overview.

[Aaron Lauterer]

While not a dedicated storage plugin, it is possible to use FC and SAS
attached block storage.

Make it clear that it works and can be used with the snapshots as a
volume chain feature as it needs LVM on top.

Signed-off-by: Aaron Lauterer <a.lauterer@proxmox.com>
---
 pvesm.adoc | 7 +++++++
 1 file changed, 7 insertions(+)

diff --git a/pvesm.adoc b/pvesm.adoc
index 97feca0..b43ca42 100644
--- a/pvesm.adoc
+++ b/pvesm.adoc
@@ -79,6 +79,7 @@ nodes that can be accessed as RBD (RADOS Block Device).
 |LVM-thin       |lvmthin     |block  |no    |yes      |yes
 |iSCSI/kernel   |iscsi       |block  |yes   |no       |yes
 |iSCSI/libiscsi |iscsidirect |block  |yes   |no       |yes
+|FC/SAS         |native^6^   |block  |yes   |yes^4^   |yes
 |Ceph/RBD       |rbd         |block  |yes   |yes      |yes
 |ZFS over iSCSI |zfs         |block  |yes   |yes      |yes
 |========================================================================
@@ -105,6 +106,12 @@ xref:pvesm_lvm_config[LVM configuration] section.
 
 ^5^ Technology preview with best-effort support.
 
+^6^ Fibre Channel (FC) and SAS block storage is handled directly by the host
+without a dedicated storage plugin. The
+https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Multipath[Multipath Guide] explains how to set it
+up in a cluster.
+
+
 Thin Provisioning
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
-- 
2.47.3

[PATCH docs 2/2] pvesm: update features for LVM,iSCSI,FC,SAS

[Aaron Lauterer]

And reword the footnotes to mention the multipath guide that show to set
it up with LVM on top in detail.

Signed-off-by: Aaron Lauterer <a.lauterer@proxmox.com>
---
 pvesm.adoc | 17 +++++++++--------
 1 file changed, 9 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)

diff --git a/pvesm.adoc b/pvesm.adoc
index b43ca42..5bd24b2 100644
--- a/pvesm.adoc
+++ b/pvesm.adoc
@@ -77,9 +77,9 @@ nodes that can be accessed as RBD (RADOS Block Device).
 |CephFS         |cephfs      |file   |yes   |yes      |yes
 |LVM            |lvm         |block  |no^3^ |yes^4^   |yes
 |LVM-thin       |lvmthin     |block  |no    |yes      |yes
-|iSCSI/kernel   |iscsi       |block  |yes   |no       |yes
-|iSCSI/libiscsi |iscsidirect |block  |yes   |no       |yes
-|FC/SAS         |native^6^   |block  |yes   |yes^4^   |yes
+|iSCSI/kernel   |iscsi       |block  |yes^3^|yes^4^   |yes
+|iSCSI/libiscsi |iscsidirect |block  |yes^3^|yes^4^   |yes
+|FC/SAS         |native^6^   |block  |yes^3^|yes^4^   |yes
 |Ceph/RBD       |rbd         |block  |yes   |yes      |yes
 |ZFS over iSCSI |zfs         |block  |yes   |yes      |yes
 |========================================================================
@@ -96,8 +96,11 @@ TiB sized), these operations may take several minutes, or in extreme cases, even
 hours. If your setup is affected, create and remove snapshots while the VM is
 shut down, expecting a long task duration.
 
-^3^: It is possible to use LVM on top of an iSCSI or FC-based storage.
-That way you get a `shared` LVM storage
+^3^: With iSCSI, FibreChannel (FC), or SAS block storage as shared storage in a
+cluster, LVM is used to split the LUN into virtual disks. The
+https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Multipath[Multipath Guide] explains how to
+configure it in a cluster, including multipathing which is usually a
+requirement in these scenarios.
 
 ^4^: Since {pve} 9, snapshots as a volume chain have been available for VMs.
 These snapshots use separate volumes for the snapshot data and layer them.  For
@@ -107,9 +110,7 @@ xref:pvesm_lvm_config[LVM configuration] section.
 ^5^ Technology preview with best-effort support.
 
 ^6^ Fibre Channel (FC) and SAS block storage is handled directly by the host
-without a dedicated storage plugin. The
-https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Multipath[Multipath Guide] explains how to set it
-up in a cluster.
+without a dedicated storage plugin.
 
 
 Thin Provisioning
-- 
2.47.3

Re: [PATCH docs 2/2] pvesm: update features for LVM,iSCSI,FC,SAS

[Maximiliano Sandoval]

Aaron Lauterer <a.lauterer@proxmox.com> writes:

> And reword the footnotes to mention the multipath guide that show to set
> it up with LVM on top in detail.
>
> Signed-off-by: Aaron Lauterer <a.lauterer@proxmox.com>
> ---
>  pvesm.adoc | 17 +++++++++--------
>  1 file changed, 9 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)
>
> diff --git a/pvesm.adoc b/pvesm.adoc
> index b43ca42..5bd24b2 100644
> --- a/pvesm.adoc
> +++ b/pvesm.adoc
> @@ -77,9 +77,9 @@ nodes that can be accessed as RBD (RADOS Block Device).
>  |CephFS         |cephfs      |file   |yes   |yes      |yes
>  |LVM            |lvm         |block  |no^3^ |yes^4^   |yes
>  |LVM-thin       |lvmthin     |block  |no    |yes      |yes
> -|iSCSI/kernel   |iscsi       |block  |yes   |no       |yes
> -|iSCSI/libiscsi |iscsidirect |block  |yes   |no       |yes
> -|FC/SAS         |native^6^   |block  |yes   |yes^4^   |yes
> +|iSCSI/kernel   |iscsi       |block  |yes^3^|yes^4^   |yes
> +|iSCSI/libiscsi |iscsidirect |block  |yes^3^|yes^4^   |yes

Technically, neither iSCSI storage plugin supports snapshots, what
supports snapshots is a LVM storage on top of a iSCSI block device. I
would personally keep the `no` and add a footnote saying that it is
possible to have snapshots on a LVM storage with savc on top of the
iSCSI storage.

> +|FC/SAS         |native^6^   |block  |yes^3^|yes^4^   |yes
>  |Ceph/RBD       |rbd         |block  |yes   |yes      |yes
>  |ZFS over iSCSI |zfs         |block  |yes   |yes      |yes
>  |========================================================================
> @@ -96,8 +96,11 @@ TiB sized), these operations may take several minutes, or in extreme cases, even
>  hours. If your setup is affected, create and remove snapshots while the VM is
>  shut down, expecting a long task duration.
>  
> -^3^: It is possible to use LVM on top of an iSCSI or FC-based storage.
> -That way you get a `shared` LVM storage
> +^3^: With iSCSI, FibreChannel (FC), or SAS block storage as shared storage in a
> +cluster, LVM is used to split the LUN into virtual disks. The
> +https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Multipath[Multipath Guide] explains how to
> +configure it in a cluster, including multipathing which is usually a
> +requirement in these scenarios.
>  
>  ^4^: Since {pve} 9, snapshots as a volume chain have been available for VMs.
>  These snapshots use separate volumes for the snapshot data and layer them.  For
> @@ -107,9 +110,7 @@ xref:pvesm_lvm_config[LVM configuration] section.
>  ^5^ Technology preview with best-effort support.
>  
>  ^6^ Fibre Channel (FC) and SAS block storage is handled directly by the host
> -without a dedicated storage plugin. The
> -https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Multipath[Multipath Guide] explains how to set it
> -up in a cluster.
> +without a dedicated storage plugin.
>  
>  
>  Thin Provisioning

-- 
Maximiliano

Re: [PATCH docs 2/2] pvesm: update features for LVM,iSCSI,FC,SAS

[Aaron Lauterer]

On  2026-07-02  13:37, Maximiliano Sandoval wrote:
> Aaron Lauterer <a.lauterer@proxmox.com> writes:
> 
>> And reword the footnotes to mention the multipath guide that show to set
>> it up with LVM on top in detail.
>>
>> Signed-off-by: Aaron Lauterer <a.lauterer@proxmox.com>
>> ---
>>   pvesm.adoc | 17 +++++++++--------
>>   1 file changed, 9 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)
>>
>> diff --git a/pvesm.adoc b/pvesm.adoc
>> index b43ca42..5bd24b2 100644
>> --- a/pvesm.adoc
>> +++ b/pvesm.adoc
>> @@ -77,9 +77,9 @@ nodes that can be accessed as RBD (RADOS Block Device).
>>   |CephFS         |cephfs      |file   |yes   |yes      |yes
>>   |LVM            |lvm         |block  |no^3^ |yes^4^   |yes
>>   |LVM-thin       |lvmthin     |block  |no    |yes      |yes
>> -|iSCSI/kernel   |iscsi       |block  |yes   |no       |yes
>> -|iSCSI/libiscsi |iscsidirect |block  |yes   |no       |yes
>> -|FC/SAS         |native^6^   |block  |yes   |yes^4^   |yes
>> +|iSCSI/kernel   |iscsi       |block  |yes^3^|yes^4^   |yes
>> +|iSCSI/libiscsi |iscsidirect |block  |yes^3^|yes^4^   |yes
> 
> Technically, neither iSCSI storage plugin supports snapshots, what
> supports snapshots is a LVM storage on top of a iSCSI block device. I
> would personally keep the `no` and add a footnote saying that it is
> possible to have snapshots on a LVM storage with savc on top of the
> iSCSI storage.

Which is why I framed the footnotes to emphasize that multipathing + LVM 
is needed.
And realistically, that combination is the only way the vast majority of 
our users are using shared block storage.  I see it as a "full package" 
that needs to be configured before you can actually use the whole stack 
as shared storage. FC/SAS/iSCSI alone without LVM is rather useless, 
except for maybe very esoteric use cases.
We would rather not give the wrong impression that it is not possible 
for someone who very briefly takes a glimpse at the table.

applied: [PATCH docs 1/2] pvesm: mention FC/SAS in the storage overview.

[Thomas Lamprecht]

On Thu, 02 Jul 2026 13:08:55 +0200, Aaron Lauterer wrote:
> While not a dedicated storage plugin, it is possible to use FC and SAS
> attached block storage.
> 
> Make it clear that it works and can be used with the snapshots as a
> volume chain feature as it needs LVM on top.
> 
> 
> [...]

Applied, thanks!

[1/2] pvesm: mention FC/SAS in the storage overview.
      commit: 5142c4ba922c110cd48c68ebf7a985b7144fbb7d
[2/2] pvesm: update features for LVM,iSCSI,FC,SAS
      commit: b994b8b24dcc9169765171f07fe12c90e70e8b41