VMware vSAN
| Original author(s) | VMware |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | VMware |
| Stable release | 6.6
/ April 18, 2017 |
| Engine | |
| Platform | VMware vSphere |
| Type | Hyper-Converged Infrastructure |
| License | Commercial |
| Website | Official website |
Search VMware vSAN on Amazon.
VMware vSAN is a commercial software-defined storage product developed by VMware, Inc that creates a distributed, shared datastore by virtually linking together direct attached storage devices located on different servers in a VMware vSphere cluster. vSAN is part of the VMware ESXi kernel and runs on industry-standard x86 servers from companies like Cisco, Dell, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Fujitsu, Lenovo and Supermicro.[1] In February 2018, Gartner named VMware a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Hyper-converged Infrastructure based on their evaluation of VMware vSAN.[2][3]
Architecture[edit]
vSAN is embedded in the VMware vSphere hypervisor where it stores and manages data as a collection of objects and components. vSAN aggregates local storage (flash devices or magnetics disks) that are directly attached to the hosts in a vSphere cluster. A vSAN cluster can have a maximum of 64 hosts that can each have up to 35 capacity devices.[4]
vSAN supports both hybrid and all-flash configurations using a two-tier architecture. Both configurations use a caching tier and a capacity tier. The caching tier is composed of at least one flash device per host. The capacity tier is composed of at least one flash device (for all-flash) or one magnetic disk (for hybrid) per host. Write I/O goes through the caching tier, and read I/O is only served by the caching tier in a hybrid configuration.[5]
Administration and monitoring of the cluster is completed through vCenter Server (vSphere Web Client) or directly from API calls, like PowerCLI.[6] Administrators assign a storage policy to each VM deployed on vSAN. The per-VM policies match user requirements, like number of data copies to maintain, with the correct storage resources.[7]
Availability[edit]
vSAN protects data against drive, host or network failures using distributed RAID and cache mirroring. The user controls the number of device failures to tolerate through the storage policy selected for a given VM. In the storage policy, users set the "failure tolerance method" to select one of two protection methods: Full Disk Mirroring (a full, second copy of the data is stored in a RAID-1 configuration) or Erasure Coding (parity bits are calculated and stored in a RAID-5 or RAID-6 configuration).[8] vSAN does not require a dedicated hardware-based RAID Controller.[9]
Data Services[edit]
vSAN version 6.2 added deduplication, data compression and erasure coding (or RAID-5/RAID-6) data services to all-flash configurations. Deduplication and compression are enabled together and set for the entire cluster. The deduplication and compression processes happen inline when data is destaged from the caching tier to the capacity tier. Deduplication occurs at the 4KB block size and compression uses LZ4 (compression algorithm).[10]
vSAN version 6.6 added data-at-rest encryption built on an Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 256 cipher.[11] vSAN encryption can be deployed on standard certified storage devices and supports all-flash, hybrid and stretched cluster configurations. For the capacity tier, the encryption calculation occurs after deduplication and compression, allowing encryption and the space efficiency features to be used together.[12]
Hardware Support[edit]
vSAN must be deployed on certified, x86 server platforms. Certified platforms are available from major server original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), including Cisco, Dell, HPE, Intel, Fujitsu, Lenovo, and SuperMicro. VMware refers to the certified hardware stack, which includes the server, IO controller and drives, as a vSAN ReadyNode.[13] VMware publishes the certified platforms in the VMware Hardware Compatibility Guide for vSAN.
Version History[edit]
The following table summarizes the release history of VMware vSAN, which was named “VMware Virtual SAN” until officially changed to “VMware vSAN” in October 2016.
| Relesae Date | vSAN Version | vSphere Release Vehicle | Significant Changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 2014 | Virtual SAN 5.5 | vSphere 5.5 Update 1+ | First release. Announced publicly at VMworld 2013 on August 26, 2013.[14] Became generally available with vSphere 5.5 Update 1 on March 12, 2014.[15]
Included persistent datastore, hybrid configuration (SSD cache and HDD persistent layer) and policy-based management.[16][17] |
| March 2015 | Virtual SAN 6.0 | vSphere 6.0 | Included all-flash support, new on-disk format, scalability up to 64 hosts, default policy-based management policies, fault domains, and Health Service plugin.[18] |
| August 2015 | Virtual SAN 6.1 | vSphere 6.0 Update 1 | Included stretched clustering, 2-node configurations, Intel NVMe support, Oracle Real Application Cluster (RAC) support, Windows Server Failover Clustering (WSFC) support, and new Health Service plugin capabilities.[19] |
| March 2016 | Virtual SAN 6.2 | vSphere 6.0 Update 2 | Included data deduplication, compression, erasure coding (RAID-5/RAID-6), and quality of service (QoS).[20] |
| October 2016 | vSAN 6.5 | vSphere 6.5 | Included iSCSI support, 2-node direct connect, and all-flash support in vSAN Standard edition.[21] |
| April 2017 | vSAN 6.6 | vSphere 6.5.0d | Included software-based data-at-rest encryption, local protection for stretched clusters, cloud analytics, and performance enhancements.[22][23]
Delivered through a vSphere express patch.[24] |
| July 2017 | vSAN 6.6.1 | vSphere 6.5 Update 1 | Included VMware vSphere Update Manager (VUM) integration, performance diagnostics in vSAN Cloud Analytics, storage device serviceability enhancements.[25] |
See Also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ Rouse, Margaret. "Definition: VMware VSAN (VMware Virtual SAN)". TechTarget. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
- ↑ MacArthur, John (2018-02-06). "Gartner Magic Quadrant for Hyperconverged Infrastructure". www.gartner.com. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
- ↑ Mellor, Chris (2018-02-12). "How do you win at HCI? It's SimpliVity ... or maybe not, right Dell?". The Register. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
- ↑ Epping, Duncan. "Chapter 2 - vSAN Prerequisites and Requirements for Deployment - vSAN Essentials 6.2". www.vsan-essentials.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
- ↑ Jeffrey, Taylor (August 2015). VMware Virtual SAN Cookbook. Packt Publishing. p. 7. ISBN 9781782174547. OCLC 936651403. Search this book on
- ↑ van den Nieuwendijk, Rob (2017). Learning PowerCLI - Second Edition (Second ed.). Birmingham, UK: Packt Publishing Ltd. p. 280. ISBN 9781786466921. OCLC 976407880. Search this book on
- ↑ Hosken, Martin (2016). VMware Software-Defined Storage : A Design Guide to Policy-Driven Storage. Indianapolis, Indiana: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. p. 203. ISBN 9781119292777. OCLC 961000445. Search this book on
- ↑ Seget, Vladan (2016-09-07). "VMware VSAN – RAID 5/6 (erasure coding), deduplication, and compression". 4sysops. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
- ↑ Seget, Vladan (2017-05-10). "VMware vSAN Pass-Through vs RAID0 Storage Controller". ESX Virtualization. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
- ↑ Mellor, Chris (Feb 10, 2016). "VMware adds dedupe tool to VSAN penknife: You don't need no steenkin' array". The Register. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
- ↑ Morgan, Timothy Prickett (2017-04-24). "Riding The Virtual SAN Gravy Train". The Next Platform. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
- ↑ Poh, Anthony (June 2017). "VSAN Encryption: What it is, what it does and how to use it". TechTarget. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
- ↑ "VMware vSAN Ready Nodes". Evaluator Group. 2017-09-05. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
- ↑ Kovar, Joseph F. (2013-08-26). "VMware Expands Software-Defined Storage With New VMware Virtual SAN (VSAN)". CRN. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
- ↑ "VMware Virtual SAN (VSAN) Now Generally Available | StorageReview.com - Storage Reviews". www.storagereview.com. 2014-03-12. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
- ↑ Ferrill, Paul. "Review: VMware Virtual SAN turns storage inside-out". InfoWorld. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
- ↑ Morgan, Timothy Prickett (2014-03-12). "vSAN Pricing: Virtual Storage Costs Like Virtual Servers". EnterpriseTech. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
- ↑ "VSAN Ready For All Enterprise Workloads". The Next Platform. 2015-02-04. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
- ↑ "VMworld announce: Virtual SAN 6.1 - vInfrastructure Blog". vinfrastructure.it. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
- ↑ Fenton, Tom (2016-02-19). "A Deep Dive Into VSAN 6.2 -- Virtualization Review". Virtualization Review. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
- ↑ "VMware VSAN 6.5 - What's New? - ESX Virtualization". ESX Virtualization. 2016-10-18. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
- ↑ Pott, Trevor. "VMware Releases VSAN 6.6". Virtualization & Cloud Review. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
- ↑ Mellor, Chris (April 11, 2017). "VMware VSAN has six dot six appeal". The Register. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
- ↑ Spiteri, Anthony. "vSAN 6.6 - What's in it for Service Providers". Virtualization is Life. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
- ↑ Wheatley, Mike (2017-07-30). "VMware scales up flagship vSphere platform in new update". SiliconANGLE. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
External links[edit]
VMware vSAN[edit]
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