vSAN is the preferred principal storage type for VMware Cloud Foundation. It is an enterprise-class storage integrated with vSphere and managed by a single platform. vSAN is optimized for flash storage and can non-disruptively expand capacity and performance by adding hosts to a cluster (scale-out) or by adding disks to a host (scale-up).
vSAN is typically used as principal storage, however it can be used as supplemental storage in a cluster when HCI Mesh is implemented.
| Storage Type |
Consolidated Workload Domain |
Management Domain |
VI Workload Domain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Principal |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Supplemental |
No |
No |
Yes |
Prerequisites for vSAN Storage
- A minimum of three ESXi hosts that meet the vSAN hardware, cluster, software, networking and license requirements. For information, see the vSAN Planning and Deployment Guide.
- The hosts must be in the SDDC Manager inventory. See Commission Hosts.
- A network pool that includes details for the vMotion and vSAN networks that will be used for the cluster. See Network Pool Management.
- A valid vSAN license. See Managing License Keys in VMware Cloud Foundation.
In some instances SDDC Manager may be unable to automatically mark the host disks as capacity. Follow the Mark Flash Devices as Capacity Using ESXCLI procedure in the vSAN Planning and Deployment Guide.
Procedures for vSAN Storage
- To use vSAN as principal storage for a new VI workload domain, see Deploy a VI Workload Domain Using the SDDC Manager UI.
- To use vSAN as principal storage for a new cluster, see Add a vSphere Cluster to a Workload Domain Using the SDDC Manager UI.
