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Re: StoreVirtual VSA

 
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dyvitech
Occasional Visitor

StoreVirtual VSA

Hello, we have to rebuild a 2 HOST VMware ESXi HP Proliant 380p G8 with virtual storage.

We have StoreVirtual 10TB for both HOST and we have to made a simple design, one VM VSA in HOST1, one VM VSA in HOST2, one FOM in other server, and networking level RAID10 between the two main HOST.

At physical level the two host are equal; 4 phisical volume (1 RAID10 with 8 x SAS HDD 10K, 1 RAID10 with 8 x SAS HDD 10K, 1 RAID10 with 4 x SSD, 1 RAID10 with 4 x SSD).

At VMware level we then have 4 datastore (exactly as the physical).

We have to configure the two VSA with 4 Virtual Disk (VMDK) in order to install all our VM into the virtualized storage (virtual san) exposed by the two VSA; our VM need to have their vmdk separeted (for example our VM SQL with one vmdk in the first virtual volume - as the first physical volume, and one vmdk in the fourth virtual volume - as the fourth physical volume).

Is this possible? Without any automatic tiering, adaptive optimization, etc., 

We need to use the 4 physical volumes exactly as we have planned, but with the virtual storage layer (having the network level RAID10 advantage).

 

Thank you

 

 

 

5 REPLIES 5
giladzzz
Honored Contributor

Re: StoreVirtual VSA

Hi

It is not possible to configure what ypou describe

because if you create a VSA virtual machine you have one pool of up to 10TB

that you can create with your license that is you can use the disks you have

for your VSA but it will be one big pool this meens you can create separate VMDK's

but you don't know where your data will be. it is recomended that you use automatic tiering

and you will have network raid 10 but it will be just one pool of disks for your storage.

you should consider creating one raid from your SAS disks and one raid from your SSD disks.

Regards

 

dyvitech
Occasional Visitor

Re: StoreVirtual VSA

Hi,

thank's for your reply.

This means that I can't create more then one pool? 
If I want to realize the design described I need more VSA license (more VSA VM?)
Surely the virtual SAN concept is a plus, but we need to separate VM e vdisk into the different type of physical storage (maybe a sort of many virtual SAN).

I came from other virtual SAN technologies (for example Starwind Virtual SAN) where at the VM level I can create VMDK in the various VMware datastore (that expose exactly what I have at the physical level) and create multiple virtual volume exposed as storage for the others VM, and synched between different HOST with same storage layout.

It could be a static design with poor scalability, but in some scenario this is the required solution. A simple example: we create a SQL VM with the data in a virtual disk (created on the VMDK1 of the Virtual SAN, based on one set of SSD), log in other virtual disk (based on different physical RAID array), tempDB, etc..

A design used in the past with physical servers, replicated with SAN (many LUNs) and recently replicated, only with some software solutions, with Virtual SAN (many...virtual LUNs)

 

Bart_Heungens
Honored Contributor
Solution

Re: StoreVirtual VSA

Hi,

If you want to do this like you wish, you would need 8 VSA licenses, having 1 VSA per physical raid set (times 4 per host) and the same 4 VSA's on the second host. And so the VSA will be used for the synchronous replication of the data.

Technically possible but out ofs the scope of actually any storage virtualization product... Because with any storage virtualization product on the market you will create a pool of virtualized storage where you don't care about the traditional way of disc carving (database log files on RAID1 or SSD, database files on RAID5 etc), with all the latest storage platforms this is not done anymore. MSA, Nimble, 3PAR, most of the competitors, all are virtualizing the storage layer by providing 1 pool of storage and you just have to create volumes for all your applications and datastores... The performance of the storage array will take care of the requested performance...

For the VSA only thing you will need is 2 datastores, 1 with SSD and 1 with SAS drives... VSA will put all hot data on SSD and offload less popular data to the SAS drives... This function is called AO or Adaptive Optimization... Per volume you can enable or disable AO, meaning that data will be on SAS only when AO is disabled...

Kr,

Bart

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dyvitech
Occasional Visitor

Re: StoreVirtual VSA

Hi,

thank you and sorry for my late reply.

It's all clear.

I have only one last question: it's possibile to disable (at VSA level not single volume level) the AO?

I'm explaining better, if all volumes have AO disabled, what happen?

 

Thank you

Jitun
HPE Pro

Re: StoreVirtual VSA

Adaptive Optimization can only be enabled or disabled at Volume level.

If there Tiers are configured on the VSA Disks, then AO behaviour cannot be changed.

If you change the Disk Tiers to all "1", then AO doesnt function.

By design data/blocks are written to Tier0 first (for volumes with AO Enabled) and once it is filled up, hot data moves between Tier0 and Tier1.

I work for HPE
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