Category Archives: 3 Virtual SAN

Is VDI causing you gray hairs? Virtual SAN and Horizon can help!

Our 2,000+ Virtual SAN customers are deploying VMware hyper-converged systems for all kinds of solutions—from supporting large Oracle databases to powering remote IT rooms to simplifying test/dev environments—but one specific workloads is always among the most popular use cases for VSAN: virtual desktops (VDI).

The struggle to find both high performance and affordable IT infrastructure, especially storage, for VDI is real. A storage system may look great on paper or even in a small POC (proof-of-concept), but hit that N+1 user with a traditional storage system and the productivity of all N+1 users can come to a grinding halt. You are then faced with an expensive, second storage purchase or left to troubleshoot and revisit all your sizing and performance assumptions: task or knowledge workers, virus scan timing, desktop recompose frequency, number/type of drives, etc…

There’s an easier way! VMware’s hyper-converged infrastructure, built on Virtual SAN and vSphere, uniquely addresses the storage challenges that have historically plagued the VDI world. Virtual SAN offers the simplicity, performance and cost needed for successful VDI deployments—both today and as your business scales. Take a look at the following video to learn why Virtual SAN is a great fit for Horizon customers deploying VDI.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WLXyvHBLt8

Want more details on deploying VSAN and Horizon? Read the latest VMware Horizon and Virtual SAN all-flash reference architecture. For those attending VMworld 2015 next week, you can learn more about Horizon and the Software-Defined Data Center in “Unleashing the Power of SDDC to Accelerate Desktop Transformation” (Session ID: EUC5438).

And remember, if you are a Horizon customer, then you may have Virtual SAN already for free through your Horizon licenses. Give it a try today and save yourself from having to learn and purchase another storage solution (if you know vCenter then you know Virtual SAN)!

You can test-drive VSAN today with a free, online Hands-On Lab (no installation required). If you already have access to a virtualized server, get started by downloading a free Virtual SAN evaluation.

Two brand new customer case studies published!

Over the past few months I’ve spoken with many customers about Virtual SAN. These conversations usually result in “unofficial” success stories that are published in the form of a blog post. In addition to these informal stories, businesses that successfully implement Virtual SAN are featured in customer case studies. Below are two new customer case studies that highlight how Virtual SAN transformed their IT infrastructure and positioned their business for future growth.

The first study describes how highway infrastructure concessionary Autopista Vespucio Norte (AVN) has leveraged VMware virtualization solutions since 2008 to reduce capital and operational expenditure. vSphere 5.5 and Virtual SAN was them the next step in this process. The complexity of their project was mainly due the fact that as this was an unprecedented technology in the market: since they were literally one of the first to implement Virtual SAN they could not rely on previous experience or proven success cases to validate the VMware VSAN solution. By converging layers of complexity and delivering over 65TB of storage capacity with just IBM 3 hosts all connected using 10GbE Arista switches they managed to reduce capacity expenditure with 50% and operational expenditure with 60%. Click here to read the full AVN customer case study.

The second case study talks about Keck Medical Center of USC which was in dire need of a new data warehouse for business and medical analytics but didn’t have room for the data in its conventional SAN. The center’s IT team quickly chose QlikView Business Discovery as its data management solution. Unfortunately, they also discovered that the center’s SAN lacked the necessary capacity and horsepower and that adequate funds to expand it were unavailable. With no available SAN capacity, a limited budget, and an impatient cohort of analysts, the Keck team urgently needed a more flexible and affordable storage solution. Storage they could deploy quickly with just the capacity they needed to launch. Storage they could scale easily and affordably as application requirements changed. Storage that would be easy to manage and that wouldn’t lock them into expensive proprietary hardware. The Keck team’s solution was to create a pair of storage clusters, building out existing VMware vSphere hosts (Dell PowerEdge R715 servers) with internal hard drives and Fusion-io flash drives. Click here to read the full Keck Medical Center of USC customer case study.

VMware Compatibility Guide Portal with New Ready Node Branding

new-brandOut with the old and in with the new! In the spirit of simplicity for all things hardware related to Virtual SAN, today VMware released a newly revamped hardware compatibility guide portal.

The portal introduces a new and simplified hardware searching capability that is primarily focused around Virtual SAN Ready Nodes instead of the previous approach focused on individual certified hardware components.

The new portal is designed to deliver a concise, quick, and rich user experience for customers. Now, customers that are looking to identify the latest and greatest suitable hardware options for their respective Virtual SAN use cases can do so with a minimum of six on-screen clicks.

Customers can very quickly select their Virtual SAN architecture of choice, supported release, preferred vendor, hardware generation, performance and storage capacity profile, and lastly server form factor type.

new-vcg

The new portal introduces a new Virtual SAN Ready Node profile branding series that replaces the previous low, medium, and high profile identification. The new profile branding series consist of five different profile across both supported Virtual SAN storage architectures hybrid and All-Flash. The image below illustrates the mapping of the new branding to the previously supported branding model of low, medium, high profiles.

RDY-N-P

The portal also provides the ability to dynamically generate PDF files that containing the configuration requirements that is inputed into the portal. This PDF can be generated to be utilized as a purchasing reference or to simply keep the record.

While the focus of the new portal points to all things Virtual SAN Ready Node, customers may still pursue building their own solutions with individual certified components.

For the most part it is strongly recommends to use certified Ready Nodes that are validated to provide predictable performance and scalability for your Virtual SAN deployment. If you would still like to build your own Virtual SAN with certified components, then click Build Your Own based on Certified Components.

The new VMware Compatibility Guide portal is the one-stop-shop location for all things related to Virtual SAN ranging from hardware, Virtual SAN Assessment Tool, Sizing and TCO calculator, and the new Virtual SAN Hardware Quick Reference Guide.

– Enjoy

For future updates on Virtual SAN (VSAN), vSphere Virtual Volumes (VVol) and other Storage and Availability technologies, as well as vSphere Integrated OpenStack (VIO), and Cloud-Native Apps (CNA) be sure to follow me on Twitter: @PunchingClouds

Support for non-uniform/heterogeneous VSAN clusters? Yes!

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been asked this question by various field people and potential customers: does VMware support non-uniform / heterogeneous VSAN clusters? The question typically comes during the pre-sales stage and by the sounds of it is one of those myths that competitors use to give their product the edge in a bake-off.

For those who just care about the facts I can be short: Yes we support non-uniform / heterogeneous VSAN clusters. Our very first datasheet has the following statement in it:

Hardware independence – Virtual SAN can be deployed on hardware from any server manufacturer. This gives you the flexibility to build out customized storage systems in heterogeneous hardware environments.

Anyone telling you VMware VSAN does not support non-uniform / heterogenous environments is badly informed, or not being honest. Some of you may say, hold on… I’ve seen posts where people are making a recommendation for uniform clusters. A strong recommendation even in some cases, does that mean VSAN doesn’t function properly when you use a non-uniform cluster? Again, I can be short: No it does not. But why did they make this recommendation?

The reason is simple: lower operational complexity. Just like with vSphere HA and vSphere DRS, balancing resources and doing calculations to see if your cluster has sufficient spare resources to reprotect VMs after a failure is easier when you have a uniform cluster. Not that it is rocket science when the cluster is non-uniform, as you will just need to assume that if something fails it will be the host providing the most storage capacity. Luckily with VSAN the whole cluster acts as “rebuild capacity”, which means that mitigating this risk is relatively easy.

As an architect I usually prefer to avoid risks though, but also understand that situations like these occur and there is no reason to fear them. I spoke with a customer who is managing a rather large non-uniform environment last week. They started with 1U hosts, but for various reasons decided to go with 2U hosts more recently. Using the same cache to capacity ratio per host they’ve had no challenges whatsoever in this environment (they even went with more cache as SSD prices lowered). Performance and management has been a breeze, they are very keen on standardization but the ability to be flexible when needed is actually what they love about VSAN.

New vRealize Operations Management Pack for Virtual SAN 6.0

VSAN-VROPSNew vRealize Operations Management Pack for Storage Devices 6.0.2 released. The new version of the management pack offers full support for Virtual SAN 6.0 by introducing a new set of dashboards that provides global visibility into all aspects of Virtual SAN 6.0 from a centralized location.

The new dashboards present customers with some of the most important and relevant information about Virtual SAN 6.0 right out-of-the-box.

  • Global View
    Get global visibility across Virtual SAN clusters for monitoring and proactive alerts/notifications on an ongoing basis. Proactively monitor multiple Virtual SAN clusters using exploratory out of the box and customizable dashboards for deriving Virtual SAN Cluster Insights, Device Insights, Entity usage, Heat Maps etc. Simplify end to end troubleshooting by leveraging Virtual SAN topology and relationship between VM, Host, Datastore, Disk group, Host Bus Adapter etc. Get device/hardware specific reports, alerts using S.M.A.R.T.S.
  • Health Monitoring and Availability
    Proactively monitor and assess device connectivity issues and failures such as APD (All Path Down), PDL (Physical Device Loss), network congestion, SSD Life (based on S.M.A.R.T.S) and disk failures. Get proactively notified on failures, performance and compliance issues on an ongoing basis, review symptoms and recommendations for a remediation strategyUse exploratory dashboards and heat maps.
  • Performance
    Monitor aggregate performance (throughput in MB/s) and latencies at a disk group and disk level for SSDs and HDDs. Assess how Virtual SAN is keeping up with specific workload by continuously monitoring metrics like SSD Read Cache hit ratio and SSD eviction rateMonitor CPU, memory and network congestion metrics.
  • Capacity
    Monitor disk usage (available and used capacity) on disks across all hosts in a cluster.
    Perform capacity planning based on “what if scenarios” and plan for future hardware purchase based on historic demand and stress trends of Virtual SAN workloads.

Continue reading →

Virtual SAN going offshore

Over the last couple of months I have been talking to many Virtual SAN customers. After having spoken to so many customers and having heard many special use cases and configurations I’m not easily impressed. I must say that half way during the conversation with Steffan Hafnor Røstvig from TeleComputing I was seriously impressed. Before we get to that lets first look at the background of Steffan Hafnor Røstvig and TeleComputing.

TeleComputing is one of the oldest service providers in Norway. They started out as an ASP with a lot of Citrix expertise. In the last years they’ve evolved more to being a service provider rather than an application provider. Telecomputing’s customer base consists of more than 800 companies and in excess of 80,000 IT users. Customers are typically between 200-2000 employees, so significant companies. In the Stavanger region a significant portion of the customer base is in the oil business or delivering services to the Oil business. Besides managed services, TeleComputing also has their own datacenter they manage and host services in for customers.

Continue reading →

Introducing HCIbench: A Free Storage Performance Testing Tool For Hyperconverged

Cleaning GlassThere’s been a lot in the press recently around the subject of testing storage performance on newer hyperconverged architectures.  

Our own experience is that there are big differences in how a given hardware configuration will perform, depending on whose hyperconverged software stack you’re using.

If performance is important to you, you should know what you’re getting before you buy.

With regards to VSAN, we’ve been continually publishing the results of our own internal testing, and done so with enough detail so that someone could reproduce the results if desired (scroll to the bottom of this page for a sampling).  We’ve also supported independent reviewers such as StorageReview.com to share their own unbiased results.

That being said, we’d like to do more — much more.

Wouldn’t it be great if anyone could easily do their own head-to-head testing?

To help customers make better informed choices, we’re introducing a free new tool that makes storage performance testing on hyperconverged clusters much, much easier.

We call it HCIbench, as in “hyperconverged infrastructure benchmark”.  It’s essentially an automation wrapper around the popular and proven Vdbench open source benchmark tool that makes it far easier to automate testing across a hyperconverged cluster.

The people who’ve tried it tell us that it’s a huge step forward in simplicity and repeatability.  Easier testing = more testing + better testing. Continue reading →

Pro Tips For Storage Performance Testing

Let’s face it — enterprise storage is a big investment.

And there are big, meaningful differences in how different storage products perform when you put them to the test.  Higher performing solutions can handle more workloads, more easily accommodate growth, and generate fewer unpleasant performance problems to deal with.  

Great performing solutions can save both money and time.

testing

Unfortunately, using publicly available information to compare different alternatives is a frustrating exercise at best.  Although we at VMware publish VSAN results frequently, that’s not the norm.  If you’d like a quick list of our published results to date, please scroll to the bottom of this post.

The lack of directly comparable performance testing information is not helpful if you have an important decision to make.

The solution?  Do your own head-to-head testing.  Investing in your own storage performance testing can help you figure out what’s the best product for you — and also avoid nasty surprises later on down the road.

And in this post, we’ll give you the basic do’s and don’t you’ll need to be successful in doing your own storage performance testing. Continue reading →

Partners: Become Software-Defined Storage Experts at Partner Exchange at VMworld 2015

At Partner Exchange @ VMworld 2015, partners will have exclusive opportunities to connect with the individuals who are transforming software-defined storage: from the Partner Lounge to targeted breakout sessions, there are plenty of opportunities to network, learn, and engage with customers. Not only will partners have access to all of the enablement, sessions, and information needed to succeed in selling VMware products, but also the opportunity to learn about the VMware partner roadmap to have well informed conversations with customers throughout VMworld.

VMware partners with a Partner Exchange Add-On Pass will be able to take advantage of the following activities and more during the week of VMworld.

Technical Boot Camps

Saturday, August 29th  |  VMware Campus  |  Palo Alto

Attend complimentary all-day technical Boot Camps at VMware’s newly renovated headquarters in Palo Alto. Transportation to and from the Moscone Center in San Francisco will be provided as well as breakfast, lunch, an afternoon networking reception, and a tour of VMware’s campus. For a full list of partner boot camps, visit the VMworld Content Catalog and begin building your schedule.

Partner Breakout Sessions

Sunday, August 30th  |  Moscone West  |  San Francisco

Attend partner-specific sessions to learn about the latest Virtual SAN features, tips to successfully sell software-defined storage solutions, and how to win SDDC deals against competition. For a full list of partner breakout sessions, visit the VMworld Content Catalog.

Partner Exchange Lounge

Sunday, August 30th – Thursday, September 3rd

Moscone West, Level 3  |  San Francisco

This year, the Partner Exchange Lounge will be bigger than ever with plenty of space for partners to network, relax, and unwind in-between sessions and meetings.  Partners will be able to use the Partner Exchange Lounge to book private meeting rooms, charge up their devices, grab coffee and snacks, and connect with peers throughout VMworld.  Special networking receptions will be held daily.

Having access to the Partner Exchange Lounge will give partners a unique opportunity to attend the Ask the Executives series everyday from 12:00-3:45pm and openly discuss any topic with various VMware executives such as Bask Iyer, CIO, and Chris Wolf, VMware CTO of Americas Sales.

To avoid long VMworld lines, partners will also be able to take a Hands-On Lab in the Hands-On Labs Hotspot located exclusively in the Partner Exchange Lounge. Completing this lab counts towards their Partner University Credits, Leaderboard Standing, and 2015 VTSP Accreditations.

Learn more about PEX at VMworld and register today. To stay up-to-date with the latest Partner Exchange news, follow @VMwarePEX on Twitter.

Explore VMware Virtual SAN and More at VMworld 2015

VMworld is quickly approaching, and this year’s agenda is packed with software-defined storage sessions, booth demos, and hands-on labs – from Virtual SAN to Virtual Volumes. Attend VMworld 2015 to learn how you can simplify your IT infrastructure and lower storage costs in the below sessions.

New & Noteworthy

Learn the latest VSAN technical trends, customer successes, and the future of virtualized storage at these must-see sessions.

STO5954-S Rethinking Enterprise Storage: The Rise Of Hyper-Converged Infrastructure
STO5333 Building a Stretched Cluster with Virtual SAN
STO5947 Virtual SAN Operations Management Using vRealize Operations
STO5883 Software Defined Storage: The next Evolution in Storage Architectures
STO4650-QT Five Common Customer Use Cases for Virtual SAN
STO6558-QT 10 Reasons Why VMware Virtual SAN Is the Best Hyperconverged Solution

Continue reading →