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preecep2020
Contributor
Contributor

Shared VMDK and Windows Clustered File Servers

We're a small outfit with with 3 x HP ProLiant servers (running ESXi 6.5), 1 x VCSA, a 3 node HP StoreVirtual san, roughly 30 vms, 1 physical file server (approx 7tb in size) and a few physical Windows RDSH servers. We're looking to replace the aging ProLiants and the StoreVirtual san with 3 or 4 HP vSAN Ready Nodes (all flash). I've used vSphere for several years and familiar with most of the basic day to day features, however, vSAN is new territory for me. Anyhow, the new ESXi servers will need to host the existing vms and we plan to virtualise the file server and RDSH servers. One of the requirements (from management) is to ensure the new virtual file server is resilient as can be (or at least within the restraints of our budget). In other words the file server needs to with stand an ESXi host failure and/or an in-guest os failure. So my thoughts were to create two new file server vm's (on separate esxi hosts) with a 10TB shared vmdk and to make use of Microsoft Cluster Services and a Clustered Shared Volume. The idea being ESXi/vSAN should provide protection at the host/hardware level and MSCS/CSV provides protection at the guest OS level.

Is anyone doing this or something similar and if so does it work well? I

Also, if i have understood correctly the shared vmdk is presented to both vm's but to provide continuous file services i'll need to use this disk (within Windows MSCS) as a clustered shared volume?

Am i off track with my proposal or has anyone any other suggestions regarding file server resilience but also bearing in mind our limited budget. 

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alantz
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Enthusiast

I'm sure that is being done by many people. I just setup something similar for a SQL database where I have 2 SQL Servers with a vmware rule to make sure they are never on the same host. Then I enabled SQL Always On so the database is replicated and available from both servers. My case didn't require a shared volume like yours might, but yea, its worked great so far. But a disclaimer, I won't go live technically until March 2022, its all testing right now.

--Alan--

 

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preecep2020
Contributor
Contributor

Thanks for the feedback Alantz. That's reassuring. 

The proposed solution sounds good, however, it does feel like there is a lot of moving parts involved (esxi, vsan, vm's, shared vmdk, ms clustering service and ms clustered shared disk). I've been exploring other options and just stumbled across vSAN File Services. This is new to me and looks like a fairly new VMWare feature.. At first glance it sounds ideal as we can simply deploy some SMB folder shares directly from vSAN without the need for vm's and the ms services. I've not spent very long looking into it yet but the only down-side, to vSAN File Services, which i have found so far is the price tag (vSAN Enterprise licenses required). 

Anyone out there replaced their Windows File servers with vSAN File Services? If so any comments on how sturdy it is and have you come across any drawbacks or issues?

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alantz
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Yea, that is another approach, but like you said between licensing and hardware costs I'm not sure which would be the better approach for you. VSAN is definitely interesting, its pretty much raid across your server local storage. I have only done some test stuff with it, nothing production. I personally used Microsoft DFS for an HA SMB folder I have.

--Alan--

 

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