

The easiest way to answer this question is by using the vSAN Sizer ! Using the vSAN Sizer, we can specify some initial cluster parameters such as socket count, cores per socket, CPU headroom, and vSAN slack space along with our workloads and the sizer will recommend a vSAN ReadyNode model and count to meet our needs. Now that we know that information, the lingering question is: how much compute and storage capacity does this hardware BOM give us and how many VI workload domains will it support? Logically, our management domain will look like this: Subsequent NSX-T VI workload domains share the NSX-T Edges deployed for the first workload domain. NSX Edges are optional and only needed to enable overlay VI networks and public networks for north-south traffic. You can deploy them manually after the VI workload domain is created. Note: NSX Edges are not deployed automatically for an NSX-T VI workload domain but I have included their requirements here. What's Deployed in a Management Domain During Bring-Up?Īt a high level we know that VCF includes vSphere (ESXi and vCenter), vSAN, SDDC Manager, and NSX-T but what VMs gets deployed and what are the specs of those VMs when bring-up is performed? The following table illustrates those components and the compute/storage requirements: As of September 2020, for VCF 4.0, that information is:ġ.2 TB Raw (2x disk groups, 600 GB cache each) Instead, it's tucked away in the Prerequisite Checklist tab of the Planning and Preparation worksheet found in the VMware Cloud Foundation documentation. The specs for the VMware Cloud Foundation management domain hardware for VCF 3.x and earlier are available in the VCF documentation but the documentation hasn't been updated yet for 4.0. When it comes time for purchasing though, what is the actual hardware that will run the management domain and does VMware have recommended specs for hardware for the management domain? There’s a basic understanding that it will consist of 4 hosts with sufficient resources to run the SDDC components for the workload domains that it manages. When talking with customers about deploying a standard VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) architecture, the topic of the hardware requirements and details for the management domain are usually glossed over.
