NVMe-TCP + VMware Design Questions
Q1: In a medium - large datacenter (ie anticipated growth to 500 hosts), would it be a problem to use large subnets (ie 2 x /23 or /22's) to place the initiators + target IPs? All our existing nvme-tcp deployments (which we're having great success with btw) use 2 x /24's, which provides more than enough capacity for the array + a decent sized cluster. But now we're entering into the realms of multiple flasharrays (ie 3 or 4 in a single site) and hundreds of hosts - we'll quickly exhaust a /24 range. Q2: In this site, where we have say 2 x FA-X's an 2 x FA-C's, is it valid to present datastores from all of these arrays over nvme-tcp to a single cluster? With each array / datastore cluster being accessed using the same initiators on the same layer 2's? At what point does it get silly and I need to draw a line and segregate environments? Q3: Is there a capacity limit to the number of client hosts I can have on an array / mapping storage to? (nvm - I think I found the answer to that - looks like it's 1000 nqn's on pretty much all X and C arrays)
Any movement on Active Cluster with NVMe /TCP?
The last update I can find is from 2 years ago was a "maybe 2025" post. Nothing in the AC FAQ that I can find. Is this going to happen or should we just explore other conectivity options at this point? Servers are UCS with internal FC switching for now, we would like to configure uniform access. Pretty sure VMware isn't going to officially support multiple connection types for the same LUN/device/volume, unless someone knows something different.
relationship between clusters and host groups
Due to circumstances beyond my control, over time and several upgrades of vSphere, there is no longer any commonality between the clusters in vSphere and what I see as host groups in the FlashArrays. So, my question is - does the API figure things out one way or another OR is my assumption that in the ideal world the clusters of hosts in VMware should match the host group names and such in Pure land? Basically some folks played shell games and since the zoning allowed it, lots of things don't line up like I once had them. I am unsure of the best way to make them sane again. thanks!Azure lovers, you'll like this one...
☁️ Did everyone catch the big cloud news at last week's Accelerate? Pure Storage Cloud for Azure Native is now GA! Thats right - it's here! You can now tap into Pure's block storage directly inside azure-no extra layers, no hassle. It works just like the rest of your Azure services but with the simplicity and efficiency you expect from Pure Storage. If you are thinking about how to get more out of Azure, definitely give 👉 this blog a read.Accelerate Breakout Replay: Pure Storage and VMware Core Storage Best Practices Deep Dive
Join this session to learn Pure Storage + VMware best practices. Get answers to "why" and deployment tips. Speakers: Alex Carver Jason Langer Trevin Hale, Columbia Sportswear https://www.purestorage.com/video/webinars/vmware-core-storage-best-practices-deep-dive/6375804979112.htmlAccelerate Breakout Replay: What's New with VMware, Pure Storage, and You in 2025?
Explore Pure Storage + VMware in 2025: ActiveDR™, ActiveCluster™, vVols, NVMe-oF, NFS, and deep platform integrations. Speakers: Alex Carver David Stevens https://www.purestorage.com/video/webinars/whats-new-vmware-pure-you-2025/6375798298112.html
Navigating vVols (vSphere Virtual Volumes) End of Life with Pure Storage
Broadcom announced with the release of VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 that they will be deprecating and ending support for vSphere Virtual Volumes (vVols). This came as a surprise to Pure Storage as both VMware and Pure had been design partners with several new features for vVols over the past 7 years and had been actively working on new design partnerships. Leaving customers and partners feeling shocked and disappointed is not an exaggeration. What was announced by Broadcom? Here is the messaging that Broadcom has announced: VMware vSphere Virtual Volumes (vVols) capabilities will be deprecated beginning with the release of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) version 9.0 and VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF) version 9.0 and will be fully removed in VCF/VVF 9.1. As a result, all vVol certifications for VCF/VVF 9.0 will be discontinued effective immediately. Support for vVols (critical bug fixes only) will continue for versions vSphere 8.x, VCF/VVF 5.x, and other older supported versions until end-of-support of those releases. Limited-time support may be considered on a case-by-case basis for customers desiring vVols support in VCF/VVF 9.0. Such customers should contact their Broadcom representative or Broadcom support for further guidance. vVols will be in a deprecated state for VCF 9.0 and then is planned to be completely removed in VCF 9.1, which is likely to be released sometime in 2026. For customers planning to upgrade to VCF 9.0, extra consideration will need to be taken before upgrading. What does this really mean for you? Current vVols users are going to be left with few choices moving forward, but before looking through these options, what does this announcement really mean? VCF 9.0 will not allow the use of vVols (FC or iSCSI) as principal storage or supplemental storage with workload domains or management domains. Broadcom has no commitment or intention of providing fixes or patches for vVols bugs or vVols security issues in VCF 9.0. While vVols will “work” on VCF 9.0, Broadcom will only provide limited technical support to customers on a case by case basis. Broadcom will tell the customer that it’s deprecated and they’ll need to contact their storage vendor when opening a support case. When VCF 9.1 is released, vVols will be removed, any vasa provider support will be removed (vVols, VMFS or NFS storage providers). Broadcom will provide critical bug fix and security fixes for vVols on vSphere 8.0 and VCF 5.x while it is supported by Broadcom. Broadcom will provide essential technical support for vVols issues with vSphere 8.0, however, it’s expected that they will still refer customers to contact their storage vendor. Broadcom expects current customers that are using vVols to storage vMotion their vVols workloads to either VMFS or NFS before upgrading to VCF 9.0; this will be required before upgrading to VCF 9.1 in the future. How will Pure Storage help you move forward after vVols? Pure Storage has supported vVols since the release of Purity//FA 5.0.0 in December 2017 and vVols has been part of a greater story and focus from Pure Storage to provide application granular storage and to make virtual machines first class in Purity. Since then, Pure has continued to extend support for vVols features and build integrations that took advantage of the vSphere APIs for vVols. The list could go on for all of the benefits and differentiation that vVols has allowed Pure Storage to deliver to customers. The biggest take away is that there was great value in how Pure Storage approached vVols and implemented support within Purity and integrations. Now the strategy moving forward is for Pure to extend as much of the value that vVols had to both NFS Datastores and VMFS Datastores running on FlashArray. There are a lot of projects that have now been accelerated due to this change and some engineering resources have already been committed to achieve this acceleration; other engineering resources are being committed for this work. What are your options moving forward? There are going to be several options that customers using vVols will have moving forward. Pure Storage is committed to being a trusted partner and advisor throughout this process. While there will be a lot more information coming in the future, here is a quick overview of some of the options that are available. Continue using vVols on vSphere 8 and VCF 9.0 Do not feel pressured or rushed to migrate or move data immediately! Evaluate if upgrading to VCF 9.0 immediately is required. vVols will be supported by Pure Storage Evaluate, test and validate options before migrating off of vVols. Storage vMotion to VMFS, convert vVols to RDMs VMFS and RDMs are not going away. Work is being prioritized to help bring most of the vVols features that Pure Storage’s vSphere plugin had to VMs running on VMFS that are managed by the vSphere plugin. Pure Storage is working with VMware to close feature gaps with VMFS backed by NVMe-oF. Converting from vVols to RDMs…never saw that coming. Storage vMotion to NFS Datastores on FlashArray File services on FlashArray have the potential to deliver a similar vVols type of experience. There are several projects underway to improve and enhance the NFS Datastore experience. The vSphere Plugin in particular has had many recent updates and has more coming in the future. Stay tuned for updated solution briefs, reference architecture and new features coming for NFS Datastores on our community page and our documentation portal. Leverage vVols to assist in migrating virtualization platforms Pure is committed to providing options and being a trusted partner which includes the option of moving platforms. This can include migrating to Azure or AWS, migrating to Hyper-V, OpenShift or Openstack. Pure Storage is actively working on guides and automation to help simplify this experience. This can include converting applications to containers rather than running on virtual machines and leveraging Portworx with FlashArray or FlashBlade. Stay tuned for more blogs, KBs and guides for what options are available. Overall, there are a lot of options that will be available and Pure Storage is making sure that the right documentation is being worked on and delivered, and the right solutions are being worked through as well. While this announcement is disruptive for both our customers and Pure Storage, there is also an opportunity to evaluate what options are available and what the strategy should be moving forward with regards to virtualization. Further Conversations Pure Storage would love to hear from customers about what options are the most interesting, what Pure can do to make those options more successful, what integrations Pure should be investing in or providing. You can reach out to your account team as well to set up conversations and deep dives with our field solutions architects and product management team too!
Big changes in the virtualization world. Are you ready?
With VMware’s future in flux—licensing changes, partner cuts, and the deprecation of vVols—many IT leaders are rethinking their virtualization strategy. 💡 Enter OpenStack: the leading open-source alternative that’s mature, flexible, and cost-effective. But migrating from VMware to OpenStack can be… complicated. 👉 Not if you're running VMware on Pure Storage FlashArrays. In my latest blog, I explore how the new OpenStack 2025.1 "Epoxy" release simplifies the migration of VMware VMs using Pure’s native storage structures—no conversions, no downtime, no headaches. 🧠 If you’re navigating Broadcom-era VMware and planning your next move, this is the insight you need. 🔗 http://theansibleguy.com/vmware-to-openstack-the-simple-way/
