NVMe over Fabrics with VMware Virtual Volumes

What is performance without control and management? Glad you asked! Implemented with vSphere 8 U1, Pure Storage® FlashArray™ is validated with support for VMware Virtual Volumes (vVols) when using NVMe over Fabrics (NVMe-oF) FC/TCP. 

Why is this a big deal? Virtual Volumes drastically reduces the amount of time you spend managing storage. That means no longer having to worry about datastore sizing, VM placement, or performance impacts of VM snapshots. Add to that the agility and flexibility of vSphere’s Storage Policy Based Management (SPBM) to manage the workload’s personality with policies that you can apply and change while the VM is running. No downtime! Configure replication and snapshot schedules, IO limits, etc., via policy and assign it in software.

NVMe-oF with Pure Storage and VMware Virtual Volumes delivers uncompromising management, performance, and simplicity to your infrastructure.

Figure 1: I/O loss with Virtual Volumes.

Non-volatile Memory Express (NVMe) is the premier storage access protocol designed for flash storage devices and the performance they deliver. Originally designed for direct attached storage (DAS) devices, NVMe-oF introduced the ability to access remote NVMe devices using TCP, FC, or RoCE. With NVMe-oF, workloads and the performance they require are no longer tied to a single server or host but can now be centralized and shared. 

For long-time virtualization administrators using VMware vSphere, we know the benefits that simplified shared storage brings to infrastructure and workloads. Using Pure Storage FlashArray, an all-NVMe-based storage array, with NVMe-oF takes simplification and performance of your vSphere environment to a higher level across the FlashArray portfolio of systems.

Read the White Paper: “Top Reasons to Use Pure Storage FlashArray with vSphere Virtual Volumes” 

See the Infographic: “Top 10 Features That Make FlashArray the Best Storage for Your vSphere Environment” 

Learn More: Pure Storage vVols User Guide