Building a Virtual SAN Cluster

If you are considering Virtual SAN, you can choose from more than one configuration solution for deploying a Virtual SAN cluster.

Depending on your requirement, you can deploy Virtual SAN in one of the following ways.

Virtual SAN Ready Node

The Virtual SAN Ready Node is a preconfigured solution of the Virtual SAN software provided by VMware partners, such as Cisco, Dell, Fujitsu, IBM, and Supermicro. This solution includes validated server configuration in a tested, certified hardware form factor for Virtual SAN deployment that is recommended by the server OEM and VMware. For information about the Virtual SAN Ready Node solution for a specific partner, visit the VMware Partner web site.

User-Defined Virtual SAN Cluster

You can build a Virtual SAN cluster by selecting individual software and hardware components, such as drivers, firmware, and storage I/O controllers that are listed in the Virtual SAN Compatibility Guide (VCG) web site at http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search.php. You can choose any servers, storage I/O controllers, capacity and flash cache devices, memory, any number of cores you must have per CPU, and so on that are certified and listed on the VCG Web site. Review the compatibility information on the VCG Web site before choosing software and hardware components, drivers, firmware, and storage I/O controllers that are supported by Virtual SAN. When designing a Virtual SAN cluster, use only devices, firmware, and drivers that are listed on the VCG Web site. Using software and hardware versions that are not listed in the VCG might cause cluster failure or unexpected data loss. For information about designing a Virtual SAN cluster, see Designing and Sizing a Virtual SAN Cluster.