vSAN ReadyNode Hardware Requirements Reduction - TCO Impact Analysis

Storage infrastructure cost optimization has historically been constrained by conservative hardware sizing recommendations that prioritized worst-case scenario performance over actual production workload requirements. VMware's November 2025 ReadyNode profile updates represent a paradigm shift from synthetic benchmark-based sizing to data-driven recommendations derived from production telemetry analysis across thousands of customer vSAN deployments worldwide.

The original vSAN ReadyNode profiles were developed during an era when flash storage was expensive, NVMe adoption was nascent, and sizing guidance erred on the side of overprovisioning to ensure customer success. Minimum RAM requirements were set based on worst-case synthetic workload testing that generated maximum transaction volumes to stress-test hardware capabilities. While this approach ensured hardware could handle extreme loads, it resulted in overprovisioned infrastructure for the majority of production workloads that operate at significantly lower utilization levels than worst-case testing scenarios.

VMware's Product Management team executed comprehensive analysis of production telemetry data gathered from thousands of vSAN clusters running diverse workload types across industries. This real-world performance analysis revealed that actual production workloads consume significantly less resources than worst-case synthetic testing suggested, with the vast majority of clusters operating well below theoretical maximum utilization. This telemetry-driven insight enabled VMware to revisit and refine ReadyNode profiles, aligning minimum hardware requirements with actual production workload patterns rather than synthetic stress test results.

The November 2025 profile updates deliver dramatic reductions in minimum hardware requirements: vSAN-HCI-MED and vSAN-HCI-LRG profiles now require 50% less RAM compared to previous minimums (256GB vs. 512GB for MED, 512GB vs. 1TB for LRG). Storage cluster profiles similarly benefit with baseline configurations starting at 128GB RAM supporting up to 12 storage devices, with incremental RAM additions required only when expanding beyond baseline device counts. These reductions are possible because modern vSAN architecture with the Express Storage Architecture (ESA) introduced in vSAN 8 operates more efficiently than the original Original Storage Architecture (OSA), consuming less memory per storage operation.

The economic impact of these hardware requirement reductions extends far beyond discrete per-host savings. In distributed storage architectures, savings multiply across cluster host counts: a 50% RAM reduction in a 10-host cluster equals 10× the per-host savings. Organizations may achieve sufficient capacity with fewer total hosts than previously required (the most affordable host is one never purchased), amplifying savings through reduced VCF licensing requirements (fewer cores to license), lower networking requirements (fewer switch ports consumed), and reduced operational expenses (power, cooling, rack space). The combined effect enables 30-40% total cost of ownership (TCO) reduction as documented in customer case studies, fundamentally changing vSAN's value proposition in the market.

Source KB: https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/vsan-readynode-2025

KB Number: vsan-readynode-2025

Orchestrator Integration: Automation Workflow

Goal: Automate vsan readynode hardware requirements reduction - tco impact analysis configuration and validation to reduce manual effort and ensure consistency across environments.

Workflow steps (VMware Aria Orchestrator)

• Create a workflow: 'vSAN vSAN ReadyNode Hardware Requirements Reduction - TCO Impact Analysis Automation'
* Inputs: clusterName (string), configParams (object)
* Step 1: Query vSAN cluster configuration via vCenter API - collect storage policies, capacity utilization, performance baselines
* Step 2: Validate prerequisites from KB vsan-readynode-2025 - check version compatibility, hardware requirements, feature dependencies
* Step 3: Implement configuration changes through vSAN management API with validation at each step
* Step 4: Execute health checks post-configuration - run vSAN health service tests, verify storage policy compliance, check resync status
* Step 5: Generate capacity planning report - project future growth, identify optimization opportunities, recommend scaling strategy
* Step 6: Update documentation in CMDB with new configuration state, KB reference, validation results, timestamp

Expected outcome

Automated vSAN storage configuration management reduces manual effort, ensures consistency with KB guidance, provides validation and documentation for compliance.