- VMware has implemented telemetry to paint a clearer picture
- It turned out that vSAN storage and HCI clusters were overspecified
- This change can result in large cost savings
VMware has admitted that overly conservative guidance based on synthetic tests caused the company to overspecify its storage servers for years.
New telemetry data shows that real-world vSAN ESA clusters use significantly less RAM and CPU than the company previously thought, allowing the company to lower the hardware requirements for its vSAN storage clusters and vSAN HCI clusters.
By building to smaller specifications, VMware is now able to make servers cheaper, more energy efficient and even more compact.
VMware has been over-engineering storage servers for years
Old synthetic tests didn’t reflect real-world behavior, so when VMware deployed telemetry across thousands of production clusters, it found that vSAN uses much less RAM than expected, and generally less CPU resources as well.
“We are pleased to announce that we have dramatically lowered the hardware requirements for ReadyNodes certified for both vSAN storage clusters and vSAN HCI clusters,” wrote Product Marketing Engineer Pete Koehler.
This includes up to a 67% reduction in RAM and a 33% reduction in CPU cores for vSAN storage clusters and a 50% reduction in RAM for vSAN HCI clusters.
The benefits both VMware and customers could see from these changes are not insignificant. Koehler noted that the hardware cost savings per host could be in the five-figure range based on “current street prices” for RAM and CPUs.
Because clusters consist of multiple hosts, customers can make big savings. They may also be able to use fewer hosts compared to before, based on the new telemetry data, as well as reduce power, cooling and rack space.
Note that vSAN is also part of the VCF license, which means it makes even more financial sense for customers already in the ecosystem.
“The latest changes to our vSAN ReadyNodes make storage more affordable, easier to design and great for even the most cost-conscious environments,” Koehler concluded.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews and opinions in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can too follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, video unboxings, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp also.
