- VMware has implemented telemetry to paint a clearer picture
- Turns out vSAN storage and HCI clusters were over-specced
- This change could result in huge cost savings
VMware has admitted overly conservative guidance based on synthetic testing caused the company to over-spec its storage servers for years.
New telemetry data shows real-world vSAN ESA clusters actually use significantly less RAM and CPU than the company had previously thought, allowing the company to lower hardware requirements for its vSAN storage clusters and vSAN HCI clusters.
By building to lesser specifications, VMware is now able to make servers cheaper, more energy efficient, and even more compact.
VMware overengineered storage servers for years
Old synthetic testing was not reflecting of real-world behavior, so when VMware implemented telemetry across thousands of production clusters, it found that vSAN uses much less RAM than anticipated, and generally fewer CPU resources too.
“We are thrilled to announce that we have dramatically lowered the hardware requirements for ReadyNodes certified for both vSAN storage clusters and vSAN HCI clusters,” Product Marketing Engineer Pete Koehler wrote.
This includes up to a 67% decrease in RAM and 33% decrease 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 aren’t insignificant. Koehler noted that the hardware cost savings per host could be in the five-figure range based off “current street pricing” for RAM and CPUs.
Because clusters consist of several hosts, customers could make huge savings. They may also be able to use fewer hosts compared with previously, based off 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 within 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.
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