What is VMware vSAN?
vSAN is enterprise-class, storage virtualization software that, when combined with vSphere, allows you to manage compute and storage with a single platform. With vSAN, you can reduce the cost and complexity of traditional storage and take the easiest path to hyperconverged infrastructure and hybrid cloud. Evolve to an integrated hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) solution with vSAN to improve business agility, all while speeding operations and lowering costs.
Quick Intro: vSAN-Powered Hyperconverged Infrastructure
Discover how you can improve performance, all while lowering IT costs and minimizing complexity.
Watch the Video (4:02)Key Features and Benefits of vSAN
Embrace HCI and modernize your data center without risk.
Read the Datasheet
Experience the Leading Software for HCI in Just 30 Minutes
Test drive vSAN with a 30-minute Lightning Hands-on Lab. It’s free and there’s nothing to install.
Start Your LabWhy Choose vSAN for Hyperconverged Infrastructure?
Integrated with Your Hypervisor
Enjoy scalable, high-performance, and secure infrastructure with the only vSphere-integrated storage virtualization software.
Power Traditional and Cloud-Native Applications
Manage both virtual machine (VM) and container-based applications seamlessly, and benefit from integration with VMware Tanzu.
Simplified Operations
Easily roll out new infrastructure and applications with minimal training.
Lower Costs
Achieve better price per performance by supporting the latest storage technology on industry-standard servers.
Private Cloud and Hybrid Cloud Ready
Use HCI anywhere with the industry’s broadest ecosystem: 15 OEM server vendors and native services with leading public clouds including AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud, IBM Cloud and Alibaba Cloud.
Why Customers Choose VMware vSAN
See the infographicCost Savings and Benefits of vSAN-Powered HCI
Download the Forrester Case StudySpotlight
6 Ways Hyperconverged Solutions Make Your Business Future Ready
6 Ways Hyperconverged Solutions Make Your Business Future Ready
Is your IT infrastructure ready to support your remote workforce? Find out in the webcast.
vSAN for Microsoft SQL Server
vSAN for Microsoft SQL Server
Learn how HCI can help you solve today’s database challenges in this new ESG white paper.
vSAN Feature Overview
Learn how vSAN’s software-defined storage services improve resource utilization and performance of HCI.
Read the ArticleAddress Infrastructure Challenges for VDI
Get superior desktop and app performance at scale and improve the user experience with VMware vSAN with Horizon.
Read the Solution OverviewCustomer Success with vSAN
20,000+ vSAN Customers
See how organizations across all industries use vSAN to pave the way to a software-defined data center.
Watch the Video (1:28)
Texas Tech University
“When comparing latency numbers on vSAN versus our previous storage array, we’re actually seeing a 20% performance improvement overall for Cognos reporting.”
- Stoney Streety, Enterprise Systems Analyst, Texas Tech University
Sentara Health
“With a VMware digital foundation, we are driving innovation, employee satisfaction and patient welfare. Moving to a hyperconverged and cloud infrastructure in one year, we’ve reduced [costs] by multiple, multiple millions.”
- Matthew Douglas, Chief Enterprise Architect, Sentara Healthcare
Rentokil Initial
“From an operational point of view, VMware vSAN’s common set of management tools make day-to-day administration much simpler. Convergence and simplicity are critical.”
- Mike Howell, Group Head of Infrastructure Services, Rentokil Initial
Hyperconverged Infrastructure Solutions for Industries
Putting vSAN to Good Use
Business Critical Applications
- High performance – up to 150k IOPS per node
- Expedite deployment with highly-automated processes
- Reduce costs compared to legacy storage solutions
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
- High performance – up to 150k IOPS per node
- Reduce storage costs with rich data services
- Precisely match resources to growth requirements
Remote and Branch Offices
- Increase local IT performance while managing from your data center
- Start with a small physical footprint – just two nodes
- Control costs with flexible licensing models
Disaster Recovery
- Lower DR costs with HCI servers instead of purpose-built storage arrays
- Manage your DR site from your data center
- Orchestrate and automate recovery by combining with VMware Site Recovery Manager and vSphere Replication
Get Started
First, instantly test drive the full technical capabilities of vSAN with this free, hands-on experience.
Second, sign up for a free online assessment to evaluate the readiness of your current environment for HCI.
Then, compare editions and find the best option for your hyperconverged infrastructure in the Licensing and Packaging Guide.
Finally, learn how to correctly size storage and configure vSAN in the design and sizing guide.
Looking for More In-Depth vSAN Technical Info?
vSAN 2 Node Cluster Guide
More details about installation, configuration, and operation of a vSAN 2 Node Cluster.
Get the GuideExplore StorageHub
Get technical resources – including documents, reference architectures, videos, and demos – to help you at every stage of your HCI deployment, from evaluation to optimization.
Visit StorageHub NowvSAN Network Design Guide
Learn about vSAN network requirements and discover best practices for design and configuration.
Start the PlaylistCompare vSAN Editions
Find the best option for your hyperconverged infrastructure environment.
- Standard: Best suited for hybrid environments with per-VM storage policies.
- Advanced: Standard Edition plus all-flash space efficiency features.
- Enterprise: Advanced Edition plus software-defined, data-at-rest encryption, and stretched clusters.
- Enterprise Plus: Advanced management for performance optimization, efficient capacity management and more.
- Remote Office/Branch Office (ROBO): Best suited for remote locations with low consolidation ratios.
- Desktop: Provides a licensing option for VDI users.
- HCI Kits: Offers one SKU for both vSAN and vSphere
FAQ
Find answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about vSAN.
What are the hardware requirements for running vSAN?
A vSAN cluster needs at least two physical hosts with dedicated local storage devices and shared witness. vSAN supports both hybrid clusters, containing hosts with magnetic drives in the capacity tier, and all-flash clusters, with hosts containing flash devices in the capacity tier. See the VMware Compatibility Guide for Systems/Servers and VMware Compatibility Guide for vSAN for more information.
What are the software requirements for running vSAN?
vSAN is integrated with the VMware vSphere Hypervisor, so there’s no need to install additional software or deploy storage controller virtual appliances to every host in the cluster, as is often the case. Only vCenter Server is required to configure and manage a vSAN cluster.
Can I use existing SAN and NAS storage in the same cluster as vSAN?
Yes, vSphere can access and use traditional datastores with vSAN and vSphere Virtual Volumes—all in the same cluster. In most cases, vSphere Storage vMotion can be used to migrate VMs between these various datastore types. This feature makes it easy to migrate existing workloads when there’s a need to perform maintenance or retire an older storage solution. Explore the Migrating VMs to vSAN demo for more detail.
Where can I find guidance on sizing a vSAN cluster?
To evaluate an existing environment for migration to vSAN, request a free HCI assessment. Data collected can be used along with the vSAN ReadyNode Sizer to help determine suitable vSAN ReadyNode server configurations. Find additional guidance in the vSAN Design and Sizing Guide.
How do I add storage capacity to a vSAN cluster?
Storage capacity can be increased in a few ways: either scale-out your clusters by adding nodes, or scale-up existing nodes by adding capacity. Cluster Quickstart makes it easy to add compute and storage capacity to a vSAN cluster.
What are my deployment options for vSAN?
There are four deployment options available for vSAN: ReadyNodes, Global Partner Appliances, Jointly Engineered System and as-a-service. With the broadest choice of consumption options for HCI including over 500 pre-certified vSAN ReadyNodes from all major server vendors, you have complete flexibility to align with your vendor preferences and experiences. Global Partner Appliances offer customers rapid deployment via standardized building blocks and unified support. VxRail, a jointly engineered HCI system from Dell EMC, is tailored for ease of deployment with highly automated lifecycle management from day 0 to day 2 operations. Customers can also use HCI-as-a-Service from leading cloud providers including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud, IBM Cloud and Alibaba Cloud and hundreds of others public clouds.
For more questions and answers, check out the full vSAN FAQs.