VMware vSAN on HPE Synergy

[ragnar21]

We're refreshing our hardware (currently using 3PAR and HPE blades) and HPE are really pushing vSAN on Synergy. We're also considering using a Nimble array with DL360s (known as dHCI). I'm reading mixed reviews about vSAN, keen to hear your thoughts. Initially I was going to avoid HCI as balancing disks across nodes seems like it would be a pain if we require more storage (even if we spec the nodes with free slots), however with Synergy we can have blades and disk draws in the same frame, so we can have a whole bunch of disks and then logically attach them to individual blades meaning that we don't need to worry about free slots in individual nodes - if we need more disks, we just add them to the draw.

We'd have a 12 node stretched cluster (6 in each DC) and would run it as FTT=2/N+2.

Especially keen to hear from those using vSAN and/or Synergy.

[support_s]

System recommended content:

1. HPE Synergy Installation and Recommended Practices Guide VMware vSAN ReadyNode on HPE Synergy for Gen10 and Gen9

2. Advisory: HPE Synergy - Synergy Dual Domain SAS Configurations in a VMware vSAN 6.x Environment May Encounter Rebuild or Resync Issues During or After a Failure

Please click on "Thumbs Up/Kudo" icon to give a "Kudo".

Thank you for being a HPE valuable community member.

[GM_M]

Hi ragnar21,

I have personally not tried the combination vSAN on Synergy, 

For checking the compatablity devices for vSAN on Synergy, check the following link:
https://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search.php?deviceCategory=vsan
Advantages of having vSAN on Synergy are:
The private vSAN network can be used internally within the logical enclosure that provides up to 240 Gb east-west traffic.
It can also be externally exposed to top-of-rack (ToR) switches to extend the cluster beyond a single logical enclosure. Utilizing an internal-only vSAN network eliminates the need for data center-wide Jumbo Frame enablement on all ToR and core switches as Jumbo Frames are natively enabled with the HPE Synergy fabric.
If the environment requires that vSAN cluster nodes participate with nodes beyond an HPE Synergy logical enclosure, then it is necessary to define the vSAN network on an HPE Synergy logical interconnect group uplink set to enable vSAN traffic to participate in the data center network.
Scaling beyond a single logical enclosure can also be accomplished using VMware Stretched Clusters without plumbing the vSAN network externally.

Thank You!