After Rakesh and I shared the news at Explore, and Explore On Tour, that vSAN would potentially be able to use Fibre Channel as a transport layer, the phone has been ringing nonstop. It was time for me to invite Rakesh and ask him to explain what vSAN over FC is all about. In this episode Rakesh covers the why, the what, but unfortunately the when is still a question. Nevertheless, this episode is a must-listen or watch, as I decided to also make it available on youtube this time. Pick what you prefer! Listen on Spotify (https://bit.ly/3YMdlzP), Apple (https://apple.co/45OncsI), or listen via the embedded player below, or just click the video!
Discussed papers/links:
Your next server refresh could be your last storage refresh! Love that!
Assuming this will be a 9.1 feature?
Technically what are requirements?
Adding a FC HBA card to each ESX server in the storage cluster. plus local NVME disk in each node of storage cluster.
Minimum FC switch speed 16GB?
A release date has not been set for this feature, as mentioned in the blog: but unfortunately the when is still a question. When it comes to the technical requirements. As mentioned in the actual podcast: vSAN Storage Cluster only for now, which means the hosts all need local NVMe. And considering this is vSAN over FC, it will require an FC HBA in every host indeed. When it comes to the speed, that will most likely be determined closer to the actual release.