This guide lays the foundation for a streamlined vSAN (VMware Virtual SAN) setup within a generic vSphere deployment. Here, we’ll assume you have one vCenter Server managing at least four ESXi hosts.
Table of Contents
Before diving into the configuration steps, let’s ensure your environment meets these crucial assumptions:
Prerequisites:
- Hardware and Firmware Compatibility: Double-check that your hardware and firmware versions are on the VMware supported list. This ensures optimal performance and stability.
- ESXi and vCenter Server Versions: All ESXi hosts need to be running ESXi 8.0 or newer. Similarly, your vCenter Server should be version 8.0 or later to effectively manage these ESXi hosts. ( vCenter and ESXi Deployement will Cover in Upcoming Blog)
- Time Synchronization: Ensure your environment has functioning DNS and NTP (Network Time Protocol) services. Precise time synchronization across your vSAN cluster is critical for data consistency.
- Network Configuration:
- Thinking All-Flash? For an all-flash vSAN configuration, a minimum of 10Gb Ethernet network connectivity is recommended for optimal performance.
- Network Segmentation: It’s generally recommended to use the same VLAN and IP segment for both vSAN and vMotion networks (IPv4 or IPv6) to simplify configuration.
- Host Status: The ESXi hosts you intend to use should not be part of any existing cluster before proceeding.
Quickstart vs. Manual Workflow:
This guide primarily focuses on the Quickstart workflow, offering a streamlined approach to vSAN setup. However, if you prefer more granular control, a manual vSAN enablement option is also available.
Network Configuration Considerations:
The Quickstart workflow takes care of configuring the vSAN and vMotion networks during the setup process. However, if you’re opting for manual configuration, ensure each host has:
- A dedicated management network VMkernel port.
- A separate VMkernel port configured for the vMotion network.
IP Address Planning:
- vSAN Network: You’ll need a dedicated IP address for each ESXi host’s vSAN network VMkernel port. Ideally, these IP addresses should reside on the same VLAN and IP segment (IPv4 or IPv6) for efficient communication.
- vMotion Network: Similarly, assign a unique IP address for each ESXi host’s vMotion network VMkernel port, following the same network segmentation recommendations as the vSAN network.
Optional: vCenter Internet Connectivity:
While not strictly mandatory for vSAN setup, configuring internet connectivity for vCenter allows the HCL database to update automatically. This ensures you have access to the latest compatibility information. Additionally, internet connectivity enables participation in the Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP), which helps VMware improve future product offerings based on user experience data (with your consent, of course).
All-Flash vs. Hybrid vSAN: Choosing the Right Storage Solution
Within the realm of vSAN configurations, you’ll encounter two primary options: all-flash and hybrid. Selecting the ideal approach hinges on several crucial factors. Let’s explore these considerations to guide your decision:
All-Flash Performance Powerhouse:
- Network Backbone: All-flash vSAN configurations demand a minimum of 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) network connectivity. This high-bandwidth infrastructure ensures optimal performance for your all-flash storage solution.
- Flash Domination: In an all-flash vSAN setup, both cache and capacity tiers leverage flash storage devices. This translates to exceptional read/write speeds and consistent performance.
- Space Efficiency Champions: All-flash configurations boast deduplication and compression functionalities, effectively reducing storage requirements by eliminating redundant data. These features are exclusive to all-flash vSAN and not available in hybrid configurations.
- Data Fault Tolerance: All-flash vSAN offers erasure coding, a space-efficient data protection method similar to RAID 5/6. This helps safeguard your data against drive failures without sacrificing significant storage capacity (unlike traditional mirroring techniques).
- Direct Reads, No Reservations: With all-flash vSAN, there’s no need for flash read cache reservation. Reads happen directly from the high-performance capacity tier SSDs (Solid State Drives), further optimizing performance.
- Focus on Endurance and Performance: When selecting flash devices for your all-flash vSAN deployment, both endurance and performance ratings become critical considerations. Endurance refers to a drive’s ability to withstand write cycles, while performance dictates its read/write speed capabilities. Carefully evaluate these factors based on your workload demands.
Hybrid vSAN: A Balancing Act
While all-flash vSAN offers undeniable performance benefits, hybrid vSAN presents a more cost-effective alternative for some use cases. Here’s a quick breakdown:
- Consider Cost Constraints: Hybrid vSAN utilizes a combination of flash storage for the cache tier and traditional magnetic disks for the capacity tier. This approach can be more budget-friendly compared to an all-flash setup.
The Choice is Yours!
The optimal vSAN configuration depends on your specific needs. If raw performance and space efficiency are paramount, all-flash vSAN emerges as the clear champion. However, if budget is a primary concern and workloads are less demanding, hybrid vSAN might be a suitable choice.
Additional Considerations:
- Quickstart vs. Manual Setup: This guide primarily focuses on the Quickstart workflow for vSAN HCI cluster configuration. But a manual option exists for those seeking more granular control.
- vSAN Max and Disaggregated Storage: If you’re aiming to test vSAN Max with disaggregated storage, a specific vSAN ESA (Know more about VMware ESA , Click here) deployment is required. Refer to the dedicated “Enabling vSAN Max – Disaggregated Storage” section for further guidance. (Deployment of vSAN Max Covered in Upcoming Blog)
- Similarities and Differences: While the core steps for deploying vSAN HCI clusters using ESA and OSA architectures share similarities, this guide will highlight any potential discrepancies between the two approaches.
Initialize Cluster
Navigate to your Datacenter > Click Actions > New Cluster.
When initiating the setup process, the New Cluster screen appears, prompting us to enable services. Here, we assign a name to the cluster and opt for vSAN from the provided list of services. Additionally, we have the option to enable vSAN ESA, which is set as the default choice.
It’s important to note:Once the cluster is created with the ESA flag enabled, it cannot be modified unless the cluster is recreated.
Some key considerations:
When targeting an OSA deployment, ensure that the “Enable vSAN ESA” checkbox remains unchecked.
For the Quickstart workflow to configure the vMotion VMkernel, it’s essential to have vSphere DRS enabled.
Here’s an example illustrating the setup with vSAN ESA enabled:
vSAN OSA Example:
Quickstart – Cluster Basics
The inception of the Quickstart process begins with the initial cluster creation mentioned earlier. Upon completing the cluster creation, proceed to [vSAN Cluster] > Configure > Quickstart. Here, you can verify the previously selected basic services and proceed to the add hosts and configuration phases.
vSAN ESA Example:
vSAN OSA Example:
Quickstart – Adding Hosts
Moving forward, the subsequent step involves adding hosts. Whether it’s ESA or OSA, the process remains identical. Clicking on the ‘Add’ button within the ‘Add hosts’ section initiates the following dialog. Multiple hosts can be added simultaneously, either by IP or FQDN. Furthermore, if all hosts share the same credentials, selecting the checkbox above the list expedites form completion. Should the hosts already be integrated into vCenter, they will be visible in the ‘Existing hosts’ tab.
Important note: Leaving one host out of the configuration here may prove beneficial for illustrating cluster expansion at a later stage.
After entering the host details, proceed by clicking Next. Subsequently, a dialog will appear displaying the thumbprints of the hosts. If these match your expectations, select the checkbox(es) and then click OK.
Review the summary, which will display the vSphere version on each host along with other relevant details. Ensure that all information is accurate and correct
On the following screen, you’ll have the choice to import the ESXi image from a host to designate it as the new image for the cluster. Make your selection and proceed accordingly.
Finally, review and click Finish if everything is in order.
Once the hosts have been added, the cluster will undergo automatic validation. Take note of any errors or inconsistencies, and if needed, re-validate the cluster.
Quickstart – Configure Cluster
Moving forward, the next phase involves configuring the vSAN HCI cluster. Upon selecting “Configure” under Step 3: Configure Cluster, the Configure Cluster workflow will commence. For ESA deployments, the initial step prompts to specify whether it’s a vSAN HCI or vSAN Max deployment. Ensure to choose the vSAN HCI option. Conversely, OSA deployments skip this screen and begin at the Distributed Switches step.
Step 1: Select Cluster Type:
Step 2: Configure Distributed Switches
In the subsequent dialog, you’ll have the opportunity to set up the distributed switch(es) for the cluster. Maintain the default setting of ‘Number of distributed switches’ as 1, and proceed by assigning a name to the switch and its corresponding port groups.
Steps 3 & 4: Configure vMotion and Storage Traffic
Subsequently, across the following screens, designate the VLAN and IP addresses to facilitate vMotion and vSAN functionality for each host. Utilize the ‘autofill’ feature to streamline the input of consecutive IP addresses if necessary.
Step 5: Configure Advanced Options
In this step, designate ‘Single site cluster’ as the deployment type. For stretched clusters, please refer to the stretched cluster guide.
Auto-Policy Management is a specific feature for vSAN ESA deployments, which ensures optimal configuration of resilience settings automatically. Enabling this feature doesn’t prevent the creation of custom storage policies post-deployment as needed. For this deployment, Auto-Policy Management is set to the default “enabled.”
Ensure that you add an NTP server to the configuration, located under ‘Host Options.’ Since vSAN operates as a distributed system, features may not function as expected if there’s a time drift between servers. Ideally, also ensure that vCenter utilizes the same time source.
Step 6: Claim Disks
Proceed to the next screen where you’ll choose the disks to utilize. For a vSAN OSA cluster, the system will automatically attempt to select disks as cache or capacity. In a vSAN ESA cluster, there is no tier selection. As illustrated in the ESA example images, the workflow verifies drive compatibility and issues a warning if any problems are detected.
vSAN OSA Example:
Step 7: Review
Lastly, ensure everything is as anticipated, then click on Finish to complete the process.
Monitor the task view to track the creation process and wait until the cluster is fully formed.
Manual vSAN enablement is available for users who prefer not to utilize the Quickstart process.
For detailed instructions on manually enabling vSAN, please refer to the VMware Docs page linked below:
https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/8.0/vsan-planning/GUID-53571374-B3E5-4767-A372-FEB7C995AF71.html
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