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VMware vSAN OSA and ESA Algorithm overview

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VMware vSAN's Original Storage Architecture (OSA) uses a two-tier model with disk groups, while the newer Express Storage Architecture (ESA), introduced in vSAN 8, utilizes a single-tier model with a log-structured file system optimized for modern, high-performance NVMe storage.  Original Storage Architecture (OSA) Overview The OSA was designed to be compatible with a wide range of hardware, including hybrid (flash cache, spinning disk capacity) and all-flash configurations.  Two-Tier Model: It separates storage devices into distinct cache and capacity tiers organized into disk groups. Disk Groups: Each disk group has one flash device for caching and buffering writes (and reads in hybrid configurations) and one to seven devices for persistent capacity. Data Flow & Processing: Writes are first sent to the high-performance cache tier (write buffer) and acknowledged quickly to the VM. Data is then "destaged" to the capacity tier in a process that involves a read-modify-w...
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VMware VCF multi-site architectures, workload mobility, and disaster recovery strategies

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VMware VCF multi-site architectures, workload mobility, and disaster recovery strategies.   VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) provides robust solutions for multi-site architectures, workload mobility, and disaster recovery. Key strategies involve using  vSAN Stretched Clusters  for high availability within a region,  NSX Federation  for cross-site networking, and dedicated  disaster recovery  solutions like VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM) or VMware Cloud Disaster Recovery (vCDR) for failover between different regions or sites.  Multi-Site Architecture Design and Implementation Designing a VCF multi-site architecture involves careful planning of the management and workload domains across different physical locations.  Availability Zones and Regions : VCF architecture formalizes the concept of a "site" or "availability zone" (AZ). A region typically contains multiple AZs. Stretched Clusters :...
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Design Decisions for VMware Cloud Foundation

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  This post outlines critical design decisions architects should consider when planning and deploying VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF). 1. VCF Constructs and Architecture VCF private cloud is composed of hierarchical constructs with clear management responsibilities: VCF Instance:  Includes a management domain and optional workload domains with core components such as vCenter, NSX, SDDC Manager, and ESX hosts. VCF Fleet:  Manages one or more VCF Instances along with fleet-level components like VCF Operations and VCF Automation. VCF Private Cloud:  Represents the highest level aggregating one or more VCF Fleets. Architects must design with these constructs in mind, determining how many instances and fleets are needed based on scale, organizational boundaries, and operational models. 2. VCF Operations Deployment Models VCF Operations is the central management console with deployment options affecting availability and recovery: Simple Model:  Single node, minimal foot...
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Microsoft Azure VMware Solution (AVS)

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Getting Started with Microsoft Azure VMware Solution (AVS)   As organizations modernize their infrastructure, many face a critical decision: migrate VMware workloads to the cloud using Azure VMware Solution (AVS) or refactor them for Azure-native services. This post walks you through what AVS is, how to set it up (with visuals), and how its costs compare to Azure-native alternatives.   What is Azure VMware Solution (AVS)? AVS is a fully managed VMware environment hosted on Azure. It allows you to run VMware workloads natively on Azure without refactoring or rearchitecting your applications. It includes: vSphere, vSAN, NSX-T, and HCX Seamless integration with Azure services Support for hybrid scenarios with ExpressRoute     How to Set Up Azure VMware Solution   Step 1: Plan Your Deployment Before deploying, gather: Azure subscription (EA, CSP, or MCA) Resource group and region CIDR block for...
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VMware Products Overview

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VMware Hypervisor   A VMware hypervisor is a software layer that allows a physical computer to run multiple virtual machines (VMs) at the same time:  How it works: A hypervisor acts as an intermediary between the physical computer's resources and the operating systems (OS) running on the VMs. It allocates the computer's resources, like memory and processing, to each VM, and isolates them so they can run independently.  Benefits: A hypervisor allows you to run multiple operating systems without rebooting the computer. It also protects sensitive data with encryption, and makes it easier to manage and audit the VMs.  VMware hypervisor products VMware offers a variety of hypervisor products, including:  VMware Workstation Pro: A desktop hypervisor for Windows that allows you to run Windows, Linux, and other VMs  VMware Fusion: A desktop hypervisor for Mac that allows you to run VMs  ESXi: A native hypervisor that's part of the VMware Infrastructure softwar...
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vROPS appliances password remediation tasks failed from SDDC manager

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Issue details:-   Password remediation tasks on SDDC manager getting failed with below error. However, we are able to connect SSH with root password on the vROPS appliances, no issues with credentials. I checked Operations logs on SDDC manager and found below logs, indicating the SSH connectivity issues from SDDC to vROPS appliances. Tried to do SSH vROPS appliance from SDDC manager, getting below error... Seems some issue with ECDSA key.. Resolution:- SSH to vROPS appliance and retrieve the ECDSA ssh keys as below. Now, we have 2 options to update the correct SSH keys for vROPS appliance on SDDC manager known_Hosts files located at below location.   /root/.ssh/known_hosts   /etc/vmware/vcf/commonsvcs/known_hosts   /home/vcf/.ssh/known_hosts   /opt/vmware/vcf/commonsvcs/defaults/hosts/known_hosts First option is manually copy and paste the SSH key on all the known_hosts files and restart the SDDC manager services and then try to remediate the password again...
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VMware Avi Load Balancer

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 Hello, As you all know that VMware NSX has native Load Balancing capabilities which provides Basic Load balancing to the virtualized environment.  But now VMware is planning to depreciate the native load balancing features and asking the VMware NSX customers to move to AVI Load Balancer product which will give advanced level of load balancing features which are supported by other third party LB vendors like F5, Cisco ACE etc... VMware NSX Advanced Load Balancer (Avi) is an API (Application Programming Interface) first, self-service Multi-Cloud Application Services Platform that ensures consistent application delivery, bringing software load balancers, web application firewall (WAF), and container Ingress for applications across data centers and clouds.    VMware’s Avi is a modern, software-defined elastic application delivery fabric. It is composed of a central control plane and a distributed data plane. VMware Avi Controller provides a centralized policy engi...
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