October 31, 2023 vSAN Hardware Quick Reference Guide Copyright © 2010-2017 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. Search Results vSAN Hardware Quick Reference Guide Search Results AF-8 SeriesUp to 120Up to 80K12 TB24 core384 GB12 TB (Minimum 3 drives in each disk group)SSD Endurance Class A or aboveSSD Performance Class C or above2x400 GBSSD Endurance Class D or aboveSSD Performance Class E or aboveAll NVMeNVMe + SASQueue Depth >= 51210 GbE or more* VM density can vary based on use case** Assumes latest generation CPU architecture*** Pass through mode recommended; additional controller may be required depending on maximum number of drives supported by the controllerAF-6 SeriesUp to 60Up to 50K8 TB24 core256 GB8 TB (Minimum 3 drives in each disk group)SSD Endurance Class A or aboveSSD Performance Class C or above2x200 GBSSD Endurance Class C or aboveSSD Performance Class D or aboveAll SASAll NVMeNVMe + SATA/SASSAS + SATAQueue Depth >=51210 GbE or more* VM density can vary based on use case** Assumes latest generation CPU architecture*** Pass through mode recommended; additional controller may be required depending on maximum number of drives supported by the controllerAF-4 SeriesUp to 30Up to 25K4 TB20 core128 GB4 TB (Minimum 2 drives in each disk group)SSD Endurance Class A or aboveSSD Performance Class C or above1x200 GBSSD Endurance Class C or aboveSSD Performance Class D or aboveAll SATAAll SASAll NVMeSAS + SATANVMe + SATA/SASQueue Depth >= 25610 GbE or more* VM density can vary based on use case** Assumes latest generation CPU architecture*** Pass through mode recommended; additional controller may be required depending on maximum number of drives supported by the controllerAMD-HY-8 Series12 TB32 core384 GB12 TB (Minimum 3 drives in each disk group)SAS 10K RPM2x400 GBSSD Endurance Class >=DSSD Performance Class >=EQueue Depth >= 51210 GbE* VM density can vary based on use case** Assumes latest generation CPU architecture*** Pass through mode recommended; additional controller may be required depending on maximum number of drives supported by the controllerAMD-HY-6 Series8 TB24 core256 GB8 TB (Minimum 3 drives in each disk group)NL-SAS 7.2K RPM2x200 GBSSD Endurance Class >=CSSD Performance Class >=DQueue Depth >= 25610 GbE* VM density can vary based on use case** Assumes latest generation CPU architecture*** Pass through mode recommended; additional controller may be required depending on maximum number of drives supported by the controllerAMD-HY-4 Series4 TB16 core128 GB4 TB (Minimum 2 drives in each disk group)NL-SAS 7.2K RPM1x200 GBSSD Endurance Class >=CSSD Performance Class >=DQueue Depth >=25610 GbE* VM density can vary based on use case** Assumes latest generation CPU architecture*** Pass through mode recommended; additional controller may be required depending on maximum number of drives supported by the controllerAMD-HY-2 Series2 TB8 core32 GB2 TB (Minimum 2 drives in each disk group)NL-SAS 7.2K RPM1x200 GBSSD Endurance Class >=BSSD Performance Class >=BQueue Depth >=25610 GbE* VM density can vary based on use case** Assumes latest generation CPU architecture*** Pass through mode recommended; additional controller may be required depending on maximum number of drives supported by the controllerAMD-AF-8 Series12 TB32 core384 GB12 TB (Minimum 3 drives in each disk group)SSD Endurance Class A or aboveSSD Performance Class C or above2x400 GBSSD Endurance Class D or aboveSSD Performance Class E or aboveAll NVMeNVMe + SASQueue Depth >= 51210 GbE or more* VM density can vary based on use case** Assumes latest generation CPU architecture*** Pass through mode recommended; additional controller may be required depending on maximum number of drives supported by the controllerAMD-AF-6 Series8 TB24 core256 GB8 TB (Minimum 3 drives in each disk group)SSD Endurance Class A or aboveSSD Performance Class C or above2x200 GBSSD Endurance Class C or aboveSSD Performance Class D or aboveAll SASAll NVMeNVMe + SATA/SASSAS + SATAQueue Depth >=51210 GbE or more* VM density can vary based on use case** Assumes latest generation CPU architecture*** Pass through mode recommended; additional controller may be required depending on maximum number of drives supported by the controllerAMD-AF-4 Series4 TB16 core128 GB4 TB (Minimum 2 drives in each disk group)SSD Endurance Class A or aboveSSD Performance Class C or above1x200 GBSSD Endurance Class C or aboveSSD Performance Class D or aboveAll SATAAll SASAll NVMeSAS + SATANVMe + SATA/SASQueue Depth >= 25610 GbE or more* VM density can vary based on use case** Assumes latest generation CPU architecture*** Pass through mode recommended; additional controller may be required depending on maximum number of drives supported by the controllerHY-8 SeriesUp to 100Up to 40K12 TB24 core384 GB12 TB (Minimum 3 drives in each disk group)SAS 10K RPM2x400 GBSSD Endurance Class >=DSSD Performance Class >=EQueue Depth >= 51210 GbE* VM density can vary based on use case** Assumes latest generation CPU architecture*** Pass through mode recommended; additional controller may be required depending on maximum number of drives supported by the controllerHY-6 SeriesUp to 50Up to 20K8 TB20 core256 GB8 TB (Minimum 3 drives in each disk group)NL-SAS 7.2K RPM2x200 GBSSD Endurance Class >=CSSD Performance Class >=DQueue Depth >= 25610 GbE* VM density can vary based on use case** Assumes latest generation CPU architecture*** Pass through mode recommended; additional controller may be required depending on maximum number of drives supported by the controllerHY-4 SeriesUp to 30Up to 10K4 TB16 core128 GB4 TB (Minimum 2 drives in each disk group)NL-SAS 7.2K RPM1x200 GBSSD Endurance Class >=CSSD Performance Class >=DQueue Depth >=25610 GbE* VM density can vary based on use case** Assumes latest generation CPU architecture*** Pass through mode recommended; additional controller may be required depending on maximum number of drives supported by the controllerHY-2 SeriesUp to 20Up to 4K2 TB6 core32 GB2 TB (Minimum 2 drives in each disk group)NL-SAS 7.2K RPM1x200 GBSSD Endurance Class >=BSSD Performance Class >=BQueue Depth >=25610 GbE* VM density can vary based on use case** Assumes latest generation CPU architecture*** Pass through mode recommended; additional controller may be required depending on maximum number of drives supported by the controllerSF-AFUp to 12Up to 15K0.6 TB6 core32 GB600 GB (Minimum 1 capacity drive in each disk group)Performance Class C or aboveEndurance Class A or above1x350 GB (Minimum 1 capacity drive in each disk group)Performance Class C or aboveEndurance Class C or aboveQueue Depth >= 25610 GbE or more* VM density can vary based on use case** Assumes latest generation CPU architecture*** Pass through mode recommended; additional controller may be required depending on maximum number of drives supported by the controllerSF-HYUp to 8Up to 2K0.6 TB6 core32 GB600 GB (Minimum 1 capacity drive in each disk group)NL-SAS 7.2KRPM1x350 GB (Minimum 1 capacity drive in each disk group)Performance Class B or aboveEndurance Class B or aboveQueue Depth >= 25610 GbE or more* VM density can vary based on use case** Assumes latest generation CPU architecture* Pass through mode recommended; additional controller may be required depending on maximum number of drives supported by the controller

Disk Group Caching Tier to Capacity Tier Ratio

Disk Group Ratio: 1 SSD, 1 to 7 HDDs >=10% anticipated used capacity For all flash caching guideline, refer the blog here https://blogs.vmware.com/virtualblocks/2017/01/18/designing-vsan-disk-groups-cache-ratio-revisited/

ESXi Boot

Please follow vSphere boot guidance at https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/85685 https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/85685

Network

Minimum two server side network adapter uplinks (Dual port NIC) recommended for redundancy

SAS Expanders

SAS Expanders are supported only on a per platform basis. Check Ready Node listings for support. In absence of SAS expander support for a Ready Node, only 8 drives supported per controller. Add an extra controller if >8 drives are required.

Device Capacity

The capacity point for caching and capacity tier is for guidance only. You can choose different capacity points as long as Performance and Endurance classes are met.

Controller Queue Depth

Controller queue depth impacts the rebuild/resync times. A low controller queue depth may impact the availability of your production VMs during rebuild/resync. A minimum queue depth of 256 is required in vSAN. Some profiles require minimum queue depth of 512 as noted above.

Number of disk groups

The number of disk groups impacts fault isolation as well as rebuild/resync times. **Fault isolation: Configuring more than 1 disk group allows better tolerance against SSD failures since data is spread across more disk groups. **Rebuild/resync times: Configuring more than 1 disk group allows faster rebuilds/resyncs.

Number of capacity drives (HDDs in Hybrid config / SSD in All Flash Configs) in a disk group

The number of capacity tier drives in a disk group has an impact of the performance of vSAN. While a single capacity tier drive is the minimum requirement for a disk group, for better performance when there are more VMs, and better handling of rebuild/resync activities, we recommend configuring more than 1 capacity tier drive per caching tier SSD per our guidance above.

Class of SSDs

The class of SSD you choose has a direct impact on the performance of your overall system.

Balanced vs Unbalanced cluster

An unbalanced cluster can impact vSAN performance as well as the rebuild/resync times. A balanced cluster delivers more predictable performance even during hardware failures. In addition, performance impact during resync/rebuild is minimal when the cluster is balanced.

1G vs 10G Ethernet

The choice of 1G vs 10G Ethernet has an impact of the vSAN performance. Both 1G and 10G networks are supported. For larger, higher performing workloads, 10G interconnect is recommended.

De-duplication, Compression and Erasure Coding Considerations

The sizing does not account for De-duplication, Compression and Erasure Coding. Please visit vSAN Sizing Calculator. If you want to size with storage efficiency turned on and then pick the right Ready Node profile.

Device Protocol

The ReadyNode are certified with particular device type (SAS/SATA/NVMe/HDD). You are not allowed to change the device type. B vSAN Hybrid - Caching 5000 - 9999 C vSAN Hybrid - Caching vSAN All Flash - Capacity 10000 - 19999 D vSAN Hybrid - Caching vSAN All Flash - Caching for Medium workloads vSAN All Flash - Capacity 20000 - 29999 E vSAN Hybrid - Caching vSAN All Flash - Caching for Medium workloads vSAN All Flash - Capacity 30000 - 99999 F vSAN Hybrid - Caching vSAN All Flash - Caching for High workloads vSAN All Flash - Capacity 100000 - 349999 G vSAN Hybrid - Caching vSAN All Flash - Caching for High workloads vSAN All Flash - Capacity 350000+ A vSAN All Flash - Capacity 365 B vSAN Hybrid - Caching 1825 C vSAN All Flash - Caching for Medium workloads 3650 D vSAN All Flash - Caching for High workloads 7300 Hybrid-Server-Low HY-2 Series New Hybrid Profile HY-4 Series Hybrid-Server-Medium HY-6 Series Hybrid-Server-High HY-8 Series Hybrid-VDI-Linked Clones HY-8 Series Hybrid-VDI-Full Clones HY-8 Series All Flash-Server-Medium AF-6 Series All Flash-Server-High AF-8 Series All Flash-VDI-Linked Clones AF-8 Series All Flash-VDI-Full Clones AF-8 Series vSAN Ready Node Configurator http://vsanreadynode.vmware.com/RN/RN vSAN ReadyNode™ Sizer https://vsansizer.vmware.com HCI Assessment Tool https://www.vmware.com/products/hyper-converged-infrastructure/assessment.html vSAN Hardware Quick Reference Guide ./vi_vsan_profile.pdf *Memory: Use balanced DIMM population as recommended by OEM partner to avoid any performance penalty(For example: Maintaining 1DIMM-Per-Channel is one of the recommendations) **Queue Depth: Queue Depth of the controller has to be the aggregated Queue Depth of all it's connecting device(same or greater)