Category Archives: Virtual SAN

Looking for vSAN Ready Nodes that Run vSAN 8 – Your Choices Are Limited

Now that VMware has released vSphere 8.0, I thought it would be interesting to gather up all of the blade servers that are certified as “vSphere Ready Nodes.”  The results were quite shocking. Continue reading

What You May Not Know About PowerEdge VRTX

We just learned this week that the PowerEdge VRTX, which was announced in June of 2013, will remain in the Dell EMC portfolio into 2021.  This is great news for customers who have invested into the “datacenter in a box” platform and opens up an opportunity for those who aren’t using it.  It’s been a while since I’ve talked about the PowerEdge VRTX platform, so here are a few things you may not know. Continue reading

UCS vs PowerEdge MX – Comparison of Admin Tasks

Principled Technologies released a report earlier this month that compared certain administrative tasks between a Cisco UCS blade server solution and a Dell EMC PowerEdge MX solution and the results were quite surprising. Continue reading

A First Look at the Dell EMC PowerEdge MX

After teasing the public at Dell Technologies World, Dell EMC has finally released details of its next generation modular architecture – the PowerEdge MX.  This generation of modular has something that gives you investment protection for years to come.  In this post, you’ll get a good overview of Dell EMC’s new blade server architecture, so grab a cup of coffee and enjoy this first look. Continue reading

Blade Server Options for VMware vSAN ReadyNode

Last July I wrote a blog article showcasing the limited options listed on VMware’s vSAN ReadyNode listing.  Over the past 14 months, that list has grown so instead of updating that older post, I thought I’d provide a consolidated updated list of vSAN ReadyNode blade servers.

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Cisco Blade Servers Enter vSAN Market

Last month, VMware announced a new vSAN Ready Node using the Cisco UCS B-Series blade server.  Blade servers aren’t new to vSAN Ready Nodes (see “VMware Virtual SAN Ready Node on a Blade Server“) and Cisco isn’t new to the vSAN business – they’ve had their UCS C-Series rack servers certified since “Ready Nodes” were announced, so why is this announcement interesting?  It’s because it is the first vSAN node that only includes 2 drives. Continue reading

Vblocks Will Continue to Use UCS

As the new year kicks off, Dell EMC leadership has made it clear that the partnership with Cisco is as strong as always.  Cisco’s UCS is the compute layer of the Dell EMC Vblock so many wondered if there would be a “Dblock” or something similar using the PowerEdge blade server product from the former VCE group and the answer is an astounding “NO!”  (In case you missed it, check out Chad Sakac‘s blog post, “Vblock and VxBlock Use Cisco UCS.  Got it?“)   Continue reading

VMware Virtual SAN Ready Node on a Blade Server

UPDATED I recently had to determine the best option for a customer from the Virtual SAN Compatibility Guide / Virtual SAN Ready Node guide and was a bit surprised to see only a single blade server vendor listed.  When it comes to choosing a server form factor, there are many reasons to choose blade servers, and several reasons not to choose them (see “5 Reasons You May NOT Want a Blade Server – April 2013.”)  If you think blade servers will fit for your infrastructure needs, here are a few options to consider.

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