This topic provides a checklist of software and hardware requirements for creating a vSAN cluster. You can also use the checklist to verify that the cluster meets the guidelines and basic requirements.

Requirements for vSAN Cluster

Before you get started, verify specific models of hardware devices, and specific versions of drivers and firmware in the VMware Compatibility Guide website at http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search.php. The following table lists the key software and hardware requirements supported by vSAN.
Caution: Using uncertified software and hardware components, drivers, controllers, and firmware might cause unexpected data loss and performance issues.
Table 1. vSAN Cluster Requirements
Requirements Description
ESXi hosts
  • Verify that you are using the latest version of ESXi on your hosts.
  • Verify that there are at least three ESXi hosts with supported storage configurations available to be assigned to the vSAN cluster. For best results, configure the vSAN cluster with four or more hosts.
Memory
  • Verify that each host has a minimum of 32 GB of memory.
  • For larger configurations and better performance, you must have a minimum of 32 GB of memory in the cluster. See Designing and Sizing vSAN Hosts.
Storage I/O controllers, drivers, firmware
  • Verify that the storage I/O controllers, drivers, and firmware versions are certified and listed in the VCG website at http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search.php.
  • Verify that the controller is configured for passthrough or RAID 0 mode.
  • Verify that the controller cache and advanced features are deactivated. If you cannot deactivate the cache, you must set the read cache to 100 percent.
  • Verify that you are using controllers with higher queue depths. Using controllers with queue depths less than 256 can significantly impact the performance of your virtual machines during maintenance and failure.
Cache and capacity
  • For vSAN Original Storage Architecture, verify that vSAN hosts contributing storage to the cluster have at least one cache and one capacity device. vSAN requires exclusive access to the local cache and capacity devices of the hosts in the vSAN cluster. They cannot share these devices with other uses, such as Virtual Flash File System (VFFS), VMFS partitions, or an ESXi boot partition.
  • For vSAN Express Storage Architecture, verify that hosts contributing storage have compatible flash storage devices.
  • For best results, create a vSAN cluster with uniformly configured hosts.
Network connectivity
  • Verify that each host is configured with at least one network adapter.
  • For hybrid configurations, verify that vSAN hosts have a minimum dedicated bandwidth of 1 GbE.
  • For all-flash configurations, verify that vSAN hosts have a minimum bandwidth of 10 GbE.
For best practices and considerations about designing the vSAN network, see Designing the vSAN Network and Networking Requirements for Virtual SAN.
vSAN and vCenter Server compatibility Verify that you are using the latest version of the vCenter Server.
License key
  • Verify that you have a valid vSAN license key.
  • To use the all-flash feature, your license must support that capability.
  • To use advanced features, such as vSAN stretched clusters or deduplication and compression, your license must support those features.
  • Verify that the amount of license capacity that you plan on using equals the total number of CPUs in the hosts participating in the vSAN cluster. Do not provide license capacity only for hosts providing capacity to the cluster. For information about licensing for vSAN, see the vCenter Server and Host Management documentation.

For detailed information about vSAN cluster requirements, see Requirements for Enabling vSAN.

For in-depth information about designing and sizing the vSAN cluster, see the VMware vSAN Design and Sizing Guide.