Plan the storage devices based on the following requirements. After confirming the purpose of each physical disk on the host, record their type, model, and capacity.
| Storage configuration | Item | Configuration requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Hybrid-flash configuration or all-flash configuration with multiple types of SSDs | Storage controller | One RAID card or HBA card supporting JBOD mode. Note: This storage controller manages all physical disks except the boot disk. If U.2 NVMe disks are connected to the PCIe interface via a retimer, switch, or directly through an AIC NVMe adapter, a storage controller is not required. |
| Boot disk | Use 7 GB of the ESXi system disk. For ESXi system disk requirements, refer to the installation and setup documents corresponding to your ESXi version on the Broadcom Documentation Website. | |
| Cache disk with metadata partition | Two data-center-grade SSDs of 960 GB or larger. | |
| Cache disk | Use the remaining space of cache disks with metadata partitions, or use separate data-center-grade SSDs. | |
| Data disk |
|
|
| All-flash configuration with a single type of SSDs | Storage controller | One SAS HBA card or a RAID card that supports JBOD mode. Note: This storage controller is used to manage all physical disks except the boot disk. If the U.2 NVMe hard disks are connected to the PCIe interface via a retimer, switch, or directly through an AIC NVMe adapter, the storage controller is not required. |
| Boot disk | Use 7 GB of the ESXi system disk. For ESXi system disk requirements, refer to the installation and setup documents corresponding to your ESXi version on the Broadcom Documentation Website. | |
| Data disk with metadata partition | Two data-center-grade SSDs of 960 GB or larger. | |
| Data disk | At least one data-center-grade SSD of 960 GB or larger. |
Note:
- When in a hybrid-flash configuration or an all-flash configuration with multiple types of SSDs, a single node has the following limitations:
- The total capacity of data disks should not exceed 128 TB.
- The total capacity of cache disks and cache disks with metadata partitions should not exceed 25 TB.
- The total number of cache disks, cache disks with metadata partitions, and data disks should not exceed 64.
- The ratio of the total capacity of cache disks and cache disks with metadata partitions to the total data disk capacity should be higher than 10%. If you plan to enable volume pinning in a cluster, after deducting the capacity reserved for volume pinning, the ratio of the remaining capacity of cache disks and cache disks with metadata partitions to the total data disk capacity needs to still be greater than 10%.
- When in an all-flash configuration with a single type of SSDs, a single node has the following limitations:
- The total capacity of data disks and data disks with metadata partitions should not exceed 128 TB.
- The total number of data disks and data disks with metadata partitions should not exceed 32.
| Storage configuration | Item | Configuration requirement |
|---|---|---|
| All-flash configuration with a single type of SSDs | Storage controller | One RAID card or HBA card supporting JBOD mode. Note: This storage controller manages all physical disks except the boot disk. If U.2 NVMe disks are connected to the PCIe interface via a retimer, switch, or directly through an AIC NVMe adapter, a storage controller is not required. |
| Boot disk | Use 7 GB of the ESXi system disk. For ESXi system disk requirements, refer to the installation and setup documents corresponding to your ESXi version on the Broadcom Documentation Website. | |
| Data disk with metadata partition | Two data-center-grade SSDs of 960 GB or larger. | |
| Data disk | Use the remaining space of data disks with metadata partitions, or use separate data-center-grade SSDs. It is recommended to use SSDs of the same brand, model, and capacity specification. |
Note:
The limitations on a single node are as follows.
- The total capacity of data disks and data disks with metadata partitions should not exceed 128 TB.
- The total number of data disks and data disks with metadata partitions should not exceed 32.
| Storage configuration | Item | Configuration requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Hybrid-flash configuration or all-flash configuration with multiple types of SSDs | Storage controller | One SAS HBA card or a RAID card that supports JBOD mode. Note: This storage controller is used to manage all physical disks except the boot disk. If the U.2 NVMe hard disks are connected to the PCIe interface via a retimer, switch, or directly through an AIC NVMe adapter, the storage controller is not required. |
| Boot disk | Use 7 GB of the ESXi system disk. For ESXi system disk requirements, refer to the installation and setup documents corresponding to your ESXi version on the Broadcom Documentation Website. | |
| Cache disk with metadata partition | Two data-center-grade SSDs of 960 GB or larger. | |
| Cache disk | Use the remaining space of cache disks with metadata partitions, or use separate data-center-grade SSDs. | |
| Data disk |
|
|
| All-flash configuration with a single type of SSDs | Storage controller | One SAS HBA card or a RAID card that supports JBOD mode. Note: This storage controller is used to manage all physical disks except the boot disk. If the U.2 NVMe hard disks are connected to the PCIe interface via a retimer, switch, or directly through an AIC NVMe adapter, the storage controller is not required. |
| Boot disk | Use 7 GB of the ESXi system disk. For ESXi system disk requirements, refer to the installation and setup documents corresponding to your ESXi version on the Broadcom Documentation Website. | |
| Data disk with metadata partition | Two data-center-grade SSDs of 960 GB or larger. | |
| Data disk | At least one data-center-grade SSD of 960 GB or larger. |
Note:
- When in a hybrid-flash configuration or an all-flash configuration with multiple types of SSDs, a single node has the following limitations:
- The total capacity of data disks should not exceed 256 TB.
- The total capacity of cache disks and cache disks with metadata partitions should not exceed 50 TB.
- The total number of cache disks, cache disks with metadata partitions, and data disks should not exceed 64.
- The ratio of the total capacity of cache disks and cache disks with metadata partitions to the total data disk capacity should be higher than 10%. If you plan to enable volume pinning in a cluster, after deducting the capacity reserved for volume pinning, the ratio of the remaining capacity of cache disks and cache disks with metadata partitions to the total data disk capacity needs to still be greater than 10%.
- When in an all-flash configuration with a single type of SSDs, a single node has the following limitations:
- The total capacity of data disks and data disks with metadata partitions should not exceed 256 TB.
- The total number of data disks and data disks with metadata partitions should not exceed 32.
| Storage configuration | Item | Configuration requirement |
|---|---|---|
| All-flash configuration with a single type of SSDs | Storage controller | One SAS HBA card or a RAID card that supports JBOD mode. Note: This storage controller is used to manage all physical disks except the boot disk. If the U.2 NVMe hard disks are connected to the PCIe interface via a retimer, switch, or directly through an AIC NVMe adapter, the storage controller is not required. |
| Boot disk | Use 7 GB of the ESXi system disk. For ESXi system disk requirements, refer to the installation and setup documents corresponding to your ESXi version on the Broadcom Documentation Website. | |
| Data disk with metadata partition | Two data-center-grade SSDs of 960 GB or larger. | |
| Data disk | Use the remaining space of data disks with metadata partitions, or use separate data-center-grade SSDs. It is recommended to use SSDs of the same brand, model, and capacity specification. |
Note:
The limitations on a single node are as follows.
- The total capacity of data disks and data disks with metadata partitions should not exceed 256 TB.
- The total number of data disks and data disks with metadata partitions should not exceed 32.
