Installation best practices

[keeb]

I'll preface this with I'm just experimenting with vSAN for the first time.
I understand that vSAN runs on Windows Server and HyperV Server, but what I haven't found is why I should/want install vSAN on my hyperV host vs installing within a Guest VM (like with other architectures)?
Is it to save a guest VM licenses or some other reason? Do vSAN upgrades require reboots? If not, I guess it's not much of a concern. If yes, wouldn't a guest vm be more convenient? Or maybe there aren't enough of these instances to be concerned?
Any insight is appreciated.

Thank you

[yaroslav (staff)]

Welcome to StarWind Forum.
StarWind VSAN not necessarily needs Windows Server/Hyper-V Server VM. You can go with StarWind VSAN for vSphere -- the same CentOS VM template the commercial users use. GUI is disabled for Free users though. StarWind VSAN for Hyper-V is available for bare-metal deploys too. Let me know which option works best for you so I can share the right configuration guide with you.

Do vSAN upgrades require reboots?

No.

[keeb]

I thought the preconfigured vms were strictly for non-production purposes?
Let's go with the hyperv option for bare metal deploys, please.

Thank you!

[keeb]

Also, I'm looking to configure 2 node synchronous replication with 2 hyperv 2019 servers.
I imagine the heartbeat requires very little bandwidth?
Can this share a nic with other uses as long as we prioritize the traffic accordingly?
Should we reserve bandwidth for this use? What is a recommended bandwidth to reserve?

Thank you!

[yaroslav (staff)]

Uness licensed with a TRIAL or NFR key, StarWind VSAN installs are considered production-ready.

I imagine the heartbeat requires very little bandwidth?

If that is a heartbeat with no iSCSI on top, yes 1 GBE will be just enough. If you plan to use it as a redundant iSCSI link though, use the link of the same bandwidth as sync.

Can this share a nic with other uses as long as we prioritize the traffic accordingly?

StarWind VSAN does not send any data over Heartbeat. Sync link is used for data transfer. Multiple Sync links are working as Round Robin.

Should we reserve bandwidth for this use?

No. You must use dedicated links for Sync (can be used as a cluster heartbeat) and iSCSI (can be used for Live Migration). Redundant heartbeat links can be used for whatever purposes. See more at https://www.starwindsoftware.com/best-p ... practices/ and https://www.starwindsoftware.com/system-requirements.

The guide https://www.starwindsoftware.com/resour ... rver-2016/

[keeb]

Am I understanding correctly... the windows exe has a free version but the hyperv vm is a trial/paid version? Ty

[yaroslav (staff)]

No. Both VSAN for Hyper-V and VSAN for vSphere have commercial, Free, NFR, and Trial versions. If you need more details, please contact support@starwind.com. Use this thread and 521282 as your references.
If you need to deploy the solution in a Windows VM that is not a bare-metal deploy. Here is a guide for you https://www.starwindsoftware.com/resour ... phere-6-5/.

If you are using Hyper-V Server/WS Core inside that VM, reuse the commands from the guide I shared here earlier.