Managing Storage in VMware Cloud
Foundation
To
create and manage a workload domain,
VMware Cloud Foundation
requires at least one shared storage type for all ESXi hosts within
a cluster. This initial shared storage type, known as principal storage, is selected during
the creation of a workload domain or cluster in SDDC Manager. Additional shared storage, known
as supplemental storage, can be added using the vSphere Client after a cluster has been
created.Although the management domain requires vSAN
as its principal storage, vSAN is not required for VI workload domains or vSphere
clusters.
For a VI workload domain, the initial storage
type can be one of the following:
- vSAN
- Fibre Channel (FC)
- Network File System (NFS) protocol version 3
- VMware vSphere Virtual Volumes (vVols)vVols supports FC, NFS, and iSCSI storage protocol types.
This initial shared
storage type is known as principal storage. Principal storage is configured when creating a
new VI workload domain or a cluster in SDDC Manager. Once created, the principal storage
type for a cluster cannot be changed. However, a VI workload domain can include multiple
clusters with unique principal storage types.
Additional shared storage types can be added
to a cluster in the management domain or a VI workload domain after it has been created. The
additional supported shared storage options include:
- vSAN
- Fibre Channel (FC)
- iSCSI Network File System
- Network File System (NFS) protocol version 3 or 4.1
- VMware vSphere Virtual Volumes (vVols)vVols supports FC, NFS, and iSCSI storage protocol types.
Additional shared storage types are known as
supplemental storage. All supplemental storage must be listed in the VMware Compatibility
Guide. Supplemental storage can be manually added or removed after a cluster has been
created using the vSphere Client. Multiple supplemental storage types can be presented to a
cluster in the management domain or any VI workload domain.