To help simplify the hardware selection process, numerous VMware partners have preconfigured "VSAN Ready Nodes" that are compliant with the various aspects of the vSphere and VSAN compatibility guides. With VSAN Ready Nodes, the sizing decisions, disk/SSD technology, network standards, and so on, have already been determined by the systems vendor. You may find that a VSAN Ready Node will simplify your purchasing and designing decisions for new VSAN build-outs and/or if you have a preferred system vendor.
Note
VSAN Ready Nodes are configured by the manufacturer and are designed to target specific infrastructure scales, or for specific use cases, such as virtual desktops (VDI). These scales are known as Ready Node Profiles.
A matrix that defines these profiles can be found by clicking on the Virtual SAN Hardware Quick Reference Guide link at the top of the VSAN Compatibility Guide page.
The VSAN Compatibility Guide for VSAN Ready Nodes is navigated in a similar manner to the component-oriented Compatibility Guide. The guide is presented as a series of drill-down categories.
Select the parameters that fit your needs from the Ready Node type (All Flash or Hybrid), preferred manufacturer, performance/scale profile, form-factor, etc.
Once your choices have been selected, click the "Update and View Results" button to populate a list of compliant ready-node configurations:
The initial output will be a collapsed list of the various Ready Node configurations that are compliant with your selected filters. The output is initially grouped by vendor.
To get additional information about the specific Ready Node configuration, twirl down the arrow next to the vendor that you wish to use and then you can expand configuration information about the specific server platform that is recommended:
You can then use the SKU number (pictured above) when you contact your preferred vendor to get pricing and ordering information for the Ready Node.
As with user-specified build-outs, please review the Chapter 1 – VSAN Capacity Planning section of Appendix A, Chapter-specific Expansions for a verbose description of the capacity expectations and recommended maximums, to help you select an appropriate VSAN Ready Node.