What are the benefits of vSAN?
Innovate with VMware Virtualization Software
Take a deep dive into vSAN storage virtualization
Refresh your knowledge of VMware vSAN with our new Foundations of vSAN Architecture YouTube series.
Maximize Flexibility and Future-Proof HCI
Manage compute and storage resources on a single platform by combining vSphere with integrated hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) powered by vSAN. Our integrated, software-defined solution is the easiest path to future-ready HCI and hybrid cloud systems, delivering faster operations, lower costs and improved business agility.
Seamless HCI Transformation
Using your current VMware tools, extend virtualization to storage with our secure hyperconverged solution – built to integrate with your hypervisor and leading public cloud providers.
Multi-Cloud HCI Platform
Enhance IT productivity with centralized visibility and alerts for your vSAN infrastructure from a single cloud console, and manage virtual machine and container-based applications seamlessly with VMware Tanzu integration.
Lower Costs
Get better price per performance using the latest storage technology on industry-standard servers.
Future-Proof Infrastructure
Optimize performance of next-generation storage devices with vSAN Express Storage Architecture™, while protecting your investment in existing tools and processes.
Meet vSAN 8 with Express Storage Architecture
vSAN 8 with Express Storage Architecture delivers the highest levels of performance and efficiency from your next-generation storage devices.
Optimized Performance
Boost performance on next-generation devices by up to 4x, without compromising space efficiency.
Supreme Efficiency
Lower storage TCO by up to 40% with enhanced data compression and adaptive storage efficiencies.
Heightened Resilience
Boost availability and meet higher SLA requirements through a new storage pool construct.
Agile Operations
Enjoy a consistent, intuitive management experience across all vSAN deployments and architectures.
More Benefits of vSAN
Scale Without Compromise
Scale compute and storage to meet your application needs efficiently and flexibly with VMware HCI Mesh.
Simplify Operations
Roll out new infrastructure and applications easily, with minimal training.
Developer-Ready Infrastructure
Get the self-service capabilities developers need to create apps at scale, plus the governance IT admins need to manage VMs and containers.
Introducing vSAN+
vSAN+ delivers cloud-connected, subscription-based vSAN services for on-premises deployments.
Flexible Consumption Model
Pay-as-you-grow subscription options help you simplify and manage costs.
Streamline Maintenance
Shrink infrastructure maintenance windows with one-click updates.
Enhance Productivity with Central Visibility
Track global inventory, centrally provision VMs, and view alerts from a single cloud management console.
Use Cases
Business-Critical Applications
Achieve high performance for your most vital apps—up to 150k IOPS per node. Expedite deployment with highly automated processes and reduce storage costs compared to legacy storage solutions.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
Improve your user experience, and get superior desktop and app performance at scale, with resources that precisely match your growth requirements.
Remote Offices and Branch Offices (ROBO)
Boost local IT performance by managing it from your data center. Start with a small physical footprint of just two nodes and expand as needed. Control costs with flexible licensing models.
Disaster Recovery (DR)
Lower DR costs by using HCI servers instead of purpose-built storage arrays. Manage your DR site easily from your data center. Orchestrate and automate recovery by combining vSAN with VMware Site Recovery Manager and vSphere Replication.
Modern Applications
Run, monitor and manage storage for containers and virtual machines on the same platform. Cloud-native storage in vSphere and vSAN provides comprehensive data management for both stateless and stateful applications.
As an IT manager of an SMB … we were looking for a user-friendly solution that is easy to manage. That’s why we choose VMware vSAN.
- Giovanni Govaerts, IT Manager, Modemakers
With vSAN we now have consistent architecture and operations to transition to a multi-cloud environment in the future.
- Steven West, System Administration Manager, Colin Biggers & Paisley
Deploying vSphere and vSAN got rid of the legacy three-tier architecture. We can now adopt a simplified hyperconverged scalable architecture, which helped us reduce TCO.
- Aket Dingal, Senior Vice President, Head of IT, JM Financial Asset Management Limited
Related Resources
Why Customers Choose vSAN
Here’s how customers use vSAN to simplify data center operations and lower CapEx.
Lower Your Data Center Costs with VMware vSAN
Learn how vSAN reduces total cost of ownership by more than 45% with capital and operational savings.
View Technical Resources at Tech Zone
Take a deep dive into vSAN: View reference architectures, design guides, operations guides and other insider insights.
Future-Proof Your HCI with vSAN Express Storage Architecture
Learn how vSAN Express Storage Architecture optimizes performance and space efficiency of your next-generation storage devices.
Related Products
Connect any user to any application in any cloud at an unprecedented scale with these related products.
vSphere
Server virtualization software
NSX
Full-stack network and security virtualization
vRealize Cloud Management
Portfolio of products for hybrid cloud management
VMware Cloud Foundation
Hybrid cloud platform
Compare Editions
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 and efficient capacity management to transform data centers into a simple, unified cloud operating system
vSAN+
Our premier HCI offering, with cloud-connected services that centralize management and enhance efficiency
Frequently Asked Questions
vSAN benefits include:
- Seamless evolution: vSAN is integrated with vSphere, extending virtualization to storage with the same tools and skillsets.
- Industry-leading flexibility: Run HCI on certified solutions from 18 OEM server vendors and use native services with leading public clouds.
- Multi-cloud capabilities: Get consistent operations from edge to core to cloud, with intrinsic security throughout.
- Centralized apps: Manage traditional and modern apps on the same platform.
What are the hardware requirements to run vSAN?
A vSAN cluster needs at least two physical hosts, with dedicated local storage devices and shared witness. For more information, see VMware Compatibility Guide for Systems/Servers and VMware Compatibility Guide for vSAN.
What are the software requirements to run vSAN?
vSAN is integrated with the VMware vSphere Hypervisor: unlike other solutions, there’s no need to install additional software or deploy storage controller virtual appliances to every host in the cluster. To configure and manage a vSAN cluster, only vCenter Server is required.
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. In most cases, vSphere Storage vMotion can be used to migrate VMs between these datastore types. This makes it easy to migrate existing workloads when performing maintenance or retiring a storage solution.
How do I size a vSAN cluster?
To evaluate an existing environment for migration to vSAN, request a free HCI assessment. This data can be used with the vSAN ReadyNode Sizer to determine suitable vSAN ReadyNode server configurations.
How do I add storage capacity to a vSAN cluster?
You can increase storage capacity in a couple of ways: 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 vSAN deployment options?
There are four vSAN deployment options: a jointly engineered turnkey system, Global Partner Appliances, vSAN ReadyNodes, and as a service with cloud providers. See vSAN deployment options for more information.
How do I enable vSAN?
For detailed guidance on enabling vSAN, see vSAN documentation.
How do I configure vSAN, step by step?
For step-by-step instructions on configuring a vSAN cluster, see vSAN documentation.
What are vSAN ReadyNodes?
vSAN ReadyNodes are x86 servers that have been pre-configured, tested and certified for VMware HCI software. Each ReadyNode is optimally configured for vSAN with the required amount of CPU, memory, network, I/O controllers and storage. For more information, see vSAN ReadyNodes.
What is vSAN+?
vSAN+ is the premier HCI offering, delivering the cloud connected services IT to centralize management and enhance efficiency. vSAN+ is offered as a subscription.
- Simplify vCenter updates with service lifecycle management support (vSphere+ required). Update/patch/upgrade all on-premises vCenter instances through a single control plane.
- Enhance IT productivity through single-console visibility of multiple vCenter servers (vSphere+ required).
- Build, run, manage and secure workloads with rapidly deployable cloud services, all connected to your on-premises infrastructure.
Will vSAN+ be available worldwide?
Yes, subject to standard market restrictions due to export controls and/or sanctions.
What is vSAN Express Storage Architecture?
vSAN Express Storage Architecture is an optional next-generation architecture built into vSAN to deliver the highest levels of performance and efficiency from your NVMe storage devices.
- Optimized performance: Maximize performance on NVMe-based TLC devices, without compromising space efficiency.
- Supreme efficiency: Achieve higher data compression and space savings, lowering TCO.
- Heightened resilience: Boost availability and meet higher SLA requirements.
Ready to Get Started?
Reduce cost and complexity and streamline your path to hybrid cloud with future-ready HCI. Test-drive vSAN with a hands-on lab, then sign up for your free online HCI assessment.