HCI vs SAN
Posted by Comfortable_Ad_6250@reddit | sysadmin | View on Reddit | 31 comments
Planning a hardware overhaul for a SMB.
Current:
(2) Hosts, (1) SAN
(2) FC Switches, (1) Core, (2) Edge
A few options and wanted to get another set of eyes or opinion on:
- Buy new + add additonal core switch.
- Buy new* + add additonal core switch *With controller only SAN upgrade.
- Go HCI route (2) Hosts + Witness eliminating SAN and FC.
The current infrastructure is 6-7 years old and approaching EOSL. The problem is buying new, or doing controller only, the EOSL is in less than 4 years. Hardly seems like a good investment for buying new, but controller only comes with risks for the older drives.
I have recently looked into HCI, since there are only 10 VMs, and 4TB of used shared storage. with plans to continue migrating workloads to cloud where it makes sense. HCI could help give me more longevity before EOSL, yet in my preliminary search it looks like Simplivity and Vxrail are both being phased out (Simplivity is also still on G11).
What is everyone doing in these days of uncertainty with product lines and short EOSL's?
thehuntzman@reddit
Nutanix and don't look back. Bonus is you can go to AHV then if you don't feel like bending over for Broadcom anymore.
TxJprs@reddit
overpriced but a great solution if u have the budget
galland101@reddit
Just bear in mind that Nutanix clusters require a minimum of 3 hosts for expansion capability. You can build one on 2 hosts but there has to be a separate witness service VM and it's currently not officially expandable. There other caveats to running only on 2 nodes as well, so its best deployed only at small edge locations.
Comfortable_Ad_6250@reddit (OP)
I've definitely considered it. The issue I run into with migrating to a new hypervisor is needing a new backup appliance and/or increase subscription substantially.
thehuntzman@reddit
VMware runs on Nutanix as well and Veeam supports AHV now (not sure what your backup appliance is). Their support is top notch too in my experience.
Comfortable_Ad_6250@reddit (OP)
One of my biggest regrets was not going with Veeam when I stopped using LTO. They don't make it easy to get all of your data either, have to download it at a snails pace if I want to migrate and stay compliant...or pay for both until the retention period ends I suppose.
Appreciate your responses!
peeinian@reddit
Veeam supports LTO tape. We have been using it with an HP StoreEver tape auto loader for 7 or 8 years.
TxJprs@reddit
couple dl320 sas connected to a msa and call it a day
dos8s@reddit
I would explore a 2 node cluster directly attached to a storage array with whatever is the cheapest controllers for an environment this small.
Comfortable_Ad_6250@reddit (OP)
That's what I designed today. Going to have an SE look it over, but I think I'll be happy with an direct. That'll push the EOSL way out too which is always good for finance!
pleaseusefqdn@reddit
+1 Two hosts, storage with SAS-controllers like Dell PowerVault ME5024 or HPE MSA… keep it simple.
Mehere_64@reddit
Agree with this. Keep it simple.
Arudinne@reddit
Whatever you do - Avoid Storage Spaces Direct (S2D).
Flaky-Gear-1370@reddit
Have had zero issues on 2025 with it, using switchless. HPe NVME drives
DarkAlman@reddit
"Friends don't let friends use Storage Spaces Direct"
SynAckPooPoo@reddit
HCI you will want three nodes for quorum. Otherwise you have to deal with a witness which is no fun.
Comfortable_Ad_6250@reddit (OP)
Any recommmendation on hardware with vmware vsan? Seems like they're dropping like flys...and rightfully so with the subscription increases.
DarkAlman@reddit
I wouldn't, the renewal cost alone will justify converting a smaller cluster to hyper-v with a small SAN instead.
SynAckPooPoo@reddit
Dell would be my number 1 pick right now. HPE and Lenovo as well. I would do ESA if you can at this point.
DarkAlman@reddit
Only 10 VMs and 4tb of storage?
2 hosts and HPE MSA storage array on SAS
Use external SAS controllers instead of Fiber channel or iSCSI
FU-Lyme-Disease@reddit
If considering Nutanix also look at Scale! Well known and also well regarded competitor!
InboxProtector@reddit
For 10 VMs and 4TB of storage, HCI makes a lot of sense, the SAN and FC overhead is hard to justify at that scale. The Simplivity/VxRail concern is valid though. Worth looking at Nutanix NX on HPE or Dell hardware, or even Azure Stack HCI if you're already moving workloads to cloud it gives you a natural bridge rather than another island to eventually migrate off. The short EOSL problem doesn't go away with any on-prem purchase right now, so the real question is how fast you're realistically moving to cloud and whether HCI buys you enough runway to get there cleanly.
Comfortable_Ad_6250@reddit (OP)
Didn't even think of Azure HCI, I'll have to look at that. And thanks for not sugarcoating the last part, I think you're right.
InboxProtector@reddit
No worries! Glad I could help!
pleaseusefqdn@reddit
+1 Two hosts, storage with SAS-controllers like Dell PowerVault ME5024 or HPE MSA… keep it simple.
Vivid_Mongoose_8964@reddit
Starwind is the perfect fit here, less gear, simple, easy, cheap, done
Ilrkfrlv@reddit
If it is only 5tb + 2 hosts and unlikely to grow much beyond that i would also consider directly connecting the hosts to the storage with SAS. It is simpler, cheaper and faster than FC.
crazy4_pool@reddit
Azure HCI might make sense for the size for the size and if you are moving workloads to cloud. The migration process has improved over the last few years minimizing cutover time. If you go with Azure you can then replicate to Azure an ease the migration. Nutanix is a great alternative as well and if you go with their hardware you will see a significant saving.
cyr0nk0r@reddit
Verge and you can do it with only 2 nodes. Save yourself the cost of. Witness with such low workload requirements. You'll save on licensing too.
Comfortable_Ad_6250@reddit (OP)
Never heard of Verge, I'll check it out. This issue I run into is falling back to a new backup, I don't have the appliance or subscription to accomidate that. Or it would be tight and expensive at best. Though vmware is not going to be cheap this year!
cyr0nk0r@reddit
With verge you can do hypervisor to hypervisor replication without additional licensing. It's trivial to stand up a DR site. Or look for other verge CSP's that you can replicate to. I sent you a PM with more details.