Virtual machine storage

Introduction

Modern physical servers, equipped with powerful hardware and hypervisors, can run a significant number of virtual machines (VMs), maximizing the IT infrastructure efficiency and resource utilization.

Problem

The failure of a single physical server can bring down all virtual servers operating on it, resulting in substantial application downtime. This scenario is unacceptable for businesses, necessitating a mechanism to ensure virtual machines (VMs) can withstand physical server failures or hardware maintenance without downtime.

Solution

Creating a cluster with multiple servers and shared storage is the solution to avoid both planned and unplanned downtime. Highly available shared storage, connectable to multiple hosts, allows VMs to migrate between physical hosts for maintenance or to fail over in the event of host failure. While physical SAN is one solution, it is expensive and comes with its own challenges. StarWind VSAN addresses the issues of owning a physical SAN by enabling the use of local storage to create a highly available storage pool. This pool can be used as shared storage to create a hyperconverged cluster, serving as a cost-effective alternative to a physical SAN.

Conclusion

StarWind VSAN offers an affordable means to provide high-performance shared storage for hypervisors, minimizing both planned and unplanned downtime. It reduces the need for numerous hardware components in building highly available hyperconverged clusters by utilizing the local storage of the hosts. StarWind VSAN decreases both capital expenditures (CAPEX), by reducing the amount of hardware required, and operational expenses (OPEX), through additional services provided by StarWind Support.