Software that delivers shared storage benefits for SMBs without shared storage hardware. VMware vSphere Storage Appliance extends the benefits of virtualization to all SMBs by transforming internal storage from several server hosts into a protected shared storage resource.
- Simple setup and configuration
- High availability without storage hardware required
- Applications and shared storage, all on existing servers
- Eliminates single point of failure
Questions?
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vSphere Storage Appliance FAQ
Sections
- Overview
- Licensing and entitlements
- Best Practices
- Scalability
- Availability
- Compatibility and requirements
- Configuration and management
Overview
- What is vSphere Storage Appliance (VSA)?
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vSphere Storage Appliance (VSA) is a software product that transforms the server's internal storage from several server hosts into a single shared storage resource. This means dedicated shared storage hardware (such as SANs) are no longer required for several servers to access the same data, further simplifying IT.
- Who is the ideal customer for VSA?
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VSA is an ideal storage solution for the SMBs that don’t have shared storage hardware in their environment, or are not considering getting shared storage hardware.
- Is VSA a hardware or software solution?
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VSA is a software product that transforms the server's internal storage from several server hosts into a single shared storage resource.
- Does one need to learn storage and storage configuration?
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No, there is no special need to learn storage or storage configuration with VSA. VSA automatically configures the host’s disk and is managed through the vCenter.
Licensing and entitlements
- How is the vSphere Storage Appliance (VSA) licensed?
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vSphere Storage Appliance is sold per instance (similar to vCenter). Each instance supports up to three nodes.
- How can I buy VSA?
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VSA can be purchased standalone or with the vSphere Essentials Plus Storage bundle.
- Is there an evaluation key for VSA?
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Yes, VSA is part of the vSphere evaluation, which is valid for 60 days.
- Can a customer buy more than one VSA?
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Yes, a customer can buy more than one VSA. However, only one VSA instance is supported per vCenter.
Best Practices
- What are some best practices for using vSphere Storage Appliance
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Run vCenter Server on any 64-bit server separate from your VSA cluster (e.g., vCenter Server running on a free vSphere Hypervisor, a licensed vSphere host, or non-virtualized server). Also, identify additional server disk capacity you will need to enable RAID protection. VMware recommends using RAID 5, 6, 10 within each server. For VSA 1.0, disk capacity and VSA-node count cannot be changed setup – this feature is planned for future release.
Scalability
- What do I do when I want to add an actual SAN or NAS in future?
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You can transition from VMware VSA to your new SAN or NAS without service disruption if you use Storage vMotion.
- What is the limit on the number of hosts?
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VSA 1.0 scales to support up to three virtualized hosts per instance.
- Can you add JBOD or external disks to this configuration?
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No. VSA 1.0 does not allow for external disk capacity. You can add more internal capacity (if available) for scalability.
- Do I need to buy external storage with VSA?
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vSphere Storage Appliance (VSA) is a software product that transforms the server's internal storage from several server hosts into a single shared storage resource. This means dedicated shared storage hardware (such as SANs) are no longer required for several servers to access the same data, thereby further simplifying IT.
- Can I add additional nodes or storage capacity once I have set up VSA?
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For VSA 1.0, disk capacity and VSA-node count cannot be changed setup – this feature is planned for future release.
Availability
- How does VSA protect the data?
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All VSA datastores have two levels of protection:
- Network mirror between servers
- Local RAID within each server
- What happens when a disk is lost on the node?
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The local network mirrors within the node to protect against local disk failure.
- What happens when a node (physical server) in a cluster fails?
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The network mirroring across nodes will protect against node failure.
Compatibility and requirements
- Is there any limitation on the kind of server that will be supported with the VSA?
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Please see the latest Hardware Compatibility List (HCL).
- What version(s) of vSphere supports VSA?
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vSphere 5.0: VSA does not support earlier versions of vSphere.
- Which vSphere editions does VSA support?
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VSA supports Essentials Plus, Standard, Enterprise, and Enterprise Plus editions of vSphere.
- Does vSphere Storage Appliance support Hyper-V?
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No, vSphere Storage Appliance only supports vSphere Essentials Plus, Standard, Enterprise, and Enterprise Plus.
- Does VSA configuration require special storage network, such as SAN?
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No, the VSA doesn’t require any special storage network. It works with the IP network.
- Can I run VSA with one node?
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No, you need a minimum of two nodes to run the VSA.
Configuration and management
- Can other VMs that reside on servers without VSA installed access the shared storage presented by the VSA?
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Yes, but those VMs have to be managed by the same vCenter instance.
- Do I need a separate management tool to manage VSA?
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No, VSA is configured and managed through vCenter.
- Do I need to install VSA separately?
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VSA can be installed during the vSphere install process. vCenter Server must be running to install VSA .
- Does vCenter invoke a new tool to manage VSA?
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vCenter has a new tab that facilitates managing VSA.
