- VMware VAAI offloads storage-intensive tasks to the array, improving efficiency, scalability, and ESXi host performance.
- Open-E JovianDSS now supports NFS VAAI, closing the gap with block storage and strengthening its role in VMware virtualization.
- New VAAI features enable faster cloning, smarter snapshots, flexible disk provisioning, and better storage visibility.
VMware vSphere Storage APIs – Array Integration (VAAI) represents a pivotal set of APIs designed to offload specific data storage-related operations from the ESXi host to the underlying storage array. But what is VAAI’s fundamental purpose? Well, its core role is to enhance both performance and efficiency within virtualized environments. This is achieved by enabling the storage array to handle computationally intensive tasks, such as cloning virtual machines or creating snapshots, thereby significantly reducing the consumption of CPU, memory, and network I/O resources on the ESXi host itself. This offloading mechanism directly leads to reduced host resource consumption, which in turn improves ESXi host performance and scalability, ultimately allowing for higher virtual machine density and greater overall efficiency of the virtualization environment.
A significant development in Open-E JovianDSS Up32 is the explicit availability of the NFS VAAI feature support for this version and subsequent releases. Open-E JovianDSS is recognized as a VMware-ready storage solution, with a substantial portion (over 80% of its customer base) utilizing the software for virtualization (with VMware, but also with Proxmox, Microsoft V-Sphere, and other popular hypervisors). This statistic underscores the strategic importance of this VAAI enhancement for Open-E’s user community.
By supporting VAAI for NFS, Open-E JovianDSS significantly narrows the feature gap that historically existed between NFS and block-based storage protocols (such as iSCSI and Fibre Channel) within VMware environments. This advancement positions NFS as a more robust and performant choice for virtualized infrastructures, aligning with VMware’s best practices for NFS and reinforcing Open-E’s offering as a unified NAS/SAN solution. This means that NFS can now offer capabilities previously associated more with block storage, making it a more competitive and efficient option for hosting virtual machines.
The VAAI Features for NFS Supported in Open-E JovianDSS
Faster Cloning of Virtual Machines
What it does: When you need to make a copy of a virtual machine (like its clone or deployment from a template), your Open-E JovianDSS system can now handle the entire copying process itself.
Why it’s great:
- Your VMware servers don’t have to spend their valuable resources on moving large amounts of data.
- Virtual machines are copied much faster.
- Your servers remain free to do their primary job – running your applications.
A quick note: While this speeds up cloning, it doesn’t apply to “Storage vMotion” which is the process of moving a running virtual machine from one storage location to another.
Smarter Virtual Machine Snapshots
What it does: Snapshots are like quick save points for your virtual machines. With VAAI, Open-E JovianDSS can now create these snapshots using its own “native” snapshot technology, rather than relying solely on VMware’s method.
Why it’s great:
- Offloads tasks from your VMware servers.
- Reduces the amount of data traffic and resource usage on them.
- Enhances the efficiency of managing virtual machine snapshots.
A quick note: The first time you create a snapshot using this native method, it may be slightly slower than the traditional VMware method. It’s best to avoid heavy activity on the virtual machine during this initial snapshot creation to ensure smooth performance. Similarly, creating “linked clones” (which are based on snapshots) might also be slightly slower initially.
Flexible and Efficient Disk Management in a VMware Environment
What it does: Previously, with NFS, you mainly had “thin provisioning,” where virtual disks only used space as they needed it. Now, VAAI enables your VMware servers to instruct Open-E JovianDSS to fully pre-allocate space for a virtual disk as soon as it’s created.
Why it’s great:
- Gives you more control over how disk space is used.
- Ability to choose “thick provision” for your virtual disks, which ensures all the space is reserved upfront.
- Prevents potential “out of space” issues later on and sometimes offers more predictable performance for critical applications.
Better Visibility into Storage Usage with VAAI’s Enhanced Insights
What it does: VAAI provides enhanced insights into how your storage space is being used on your NFS datastores.
Why it’s great:
- Especially helpful if you’re using thin provisioning.
- Shows the actual amount of space consumed by your virtual disks, even if you’ve “oversubscribed” your data storage (meaning you’ve allocated more virtual disk space than you physically have).
- Helps you plan your storage capacity more effectively and avoid surprises.
The impact of these VAAI capabilities on virtual machine performance and management is substantial. They facilitate faster virtual machine provisioning and cloning, reduce the load on ESXi hosts by freeing up CPU and memory resources for virtual machines, and improve the efficiency of tasks such as virtual machine snapshots and Storage vMotion. The Open-E Knowledgebase provides detailed steps for downloading, installing, checking, and managing the NFS VAAI plugin on ESXi hosts, including setting acceptance levels and verifying functionality.
