Hardware compatibility validation for vSAN 9.1 upgrade

Products

• VMware vSAN

Issue/Introduction

Planning an upgrade to vSAN 9.1 requires validation of existing hardware against the target version's requirements. Ensuring compatibility is essential to prevent performance degradation, storage controller lockups, or unexpected system states post-upgrade.
This article provides the procedure to verify server models, physical disks, and controller compatibility using the Broadcom Hardware Compatibility List (HCL).

Environment

 

• VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.1
• VMware vSAN 9.1
• Dell PowerEdge R6525, R7525
• Cisco UCS C240 M6N

 

Cause

 

• Incompatible storage controllers or physical disk firmware levels can cause significant I/O latency, kernel panics, or failure to mount datastores after an upgrade to vSAN 9.1. Validating the Bill of Materials (BOM) against the HCL before the upgrade is mandatory to ensure a supported and stable deployment.

 

Resolution

To ensure a supported upgrade path, follow the steps below to verify hardware compatibility:

1. Access the official Broadcom website Hardware compatibility list. (https://compatibilityguide.broadcom.com/search?program=server&persona=live&column=partnerName&order=asc)
2. Enter the server model and controller details to search for the specific Bill of Materials (BOM).
3. Verify that the firmware and driver versions for the storage controllers match the requirements for vSAN 9.1.
4. Confirm that the physical disk models are listed as supported for the specific vSAN profile (e.g., AF-0, AF-2).
5. If using vSAN ESA, ensure that all disks are NVMe and meet the minimum capacity requirements of 1.6 TB.

For general guidance on supported hardware changes, refer to . Supported Hardware changes- https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/326717

To download the latest software and patches, visit the . Broadcom support portal-  https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/142814/download-broadcom-products-and-software.html