Hardware Requirements
Minimum and recommended hardware specifications for VergeOS controller nodes, storage nodes, and compute-only nodes, plus maximum supported limits.
Overview
Sizing a VergeOS deployment starts with understanding the hardware requirements for each node role. Because VergeOS is a complete infrastructure operating system -- not a collection of separate products -- its base overhead is remarkably low. There is no management appliance VM, no per-node controller VM, and no separate storage software to feed. The specifications below cover what VergeOS itself needs; you will add capacity on top for your workloads.
Generic Requirements (All Node Types)
Every node in a VergeOS cluster -- regardless of role -- must meet these baseline requirements:
CPU
AMD or Intel x86-64 with hardware virtualization support (VT-x / AMD-V)
RAM
16 GB dedicated to VergeOS (additional RAM sized for workloads)
Remote Management
IPMI, iDRAC, iLO, or equivalent out-of-band management
Disk Controller
NVMe direct-attached (preferred), or HBA / RAID controller in JBOD / IT mode -- no hardware RAID
External NIC
1 x 1 GbE (Intel, NVIDIA Mellanox, or Broadcom)
Core Fabric NIC
1 x 10 GbE (Intel, NVIDIA Mellanox, or Broadcom)
No Hardware RAID
VergeOS manages data redundancy through its built-in vSAN (VergeFS). Hardware RAID controllers must be placed in JBOD or IT mode so that VergeOS can see and manage individual disks. Using RAID arrays hides disk health information and prevents VergeOS from performing its own data protection.
BIOS Settings Checklist
Before installation, verify these BIOS settings on every node:
Boot mode: UEFI (required if all drives are NVMe)
Hardware-assisted virtualization: Enabled (VT-x / AMD-V)
Hyper-threading / SMT: Enabled
All processor cores: Enabled
System clocks: Synchronized across all nodes (within seconds)
Secure Boot: Disabled
Controller Nodes (Node 1 and Node 2)
The first two nodes in any VergeOS system are the controller nodes. They host the vSAN metadata (Tier 0), manage cluster orchestration, and serve as the system's management plane. Every VergeOS installation requires at least two controller nodes: two controllers provide N+1 redundancy (the default). Surviving the simultaneous loss of two controllers — N+2 (RF3, three copies of every data block) — requires three controller nodes, and five is recommended for N+2 to provide a witness and avoid split-brain scenarios.
Minimum Specifications
CPU
1 x 2.7 GHz+
Higher clock speed benefits metadata operations
RAM
16 GB + 1 GB per 1 TB of storage
The 1 GB/TB ratio is for vSAN metadata overhead
Tier 0 Storage
1 x Enterprise NVMe SSD (3 DWPD or equivalent)
Stores the vSAN hash map and filesystem index
Tier 0 Capacity
5 GB per 1 TB of usable capacity
Dedicated metadata storage
Recommended Specifications
CPU
1 x 3.0 GHz+
Improves metadata and orchestration performance
Tier 0 Storage
2 x Enterprise NVMe SSD (3 DWPD or equivalent)
Redundant metadata configuration
Tier 0 Capacity
10 GB per 1 TB of usable capacity
Additional headroom for metadata growth
Tier 0 Is Metadata Only
Tier 0 stores the vSAN hash map and filesystem index -- it is not a workload data tier. It lives on fast NVMe specifically for performance: keeping the dedup hash map and filesystem index on low-latency media is what ensures fast lookups across the entire storage pool. Tier 0 is write-intensive, so the drives need high endurance — 3 DWPD or equivalent. Endurance scales with capacity (DWPD × capacity = writes/day), so a larger drive at a lower DWPD is equivalent: a 1 TB drive at 3 DWPD and a 3 TB drive at 1 DWPD both absorb 3 TB of writes/day. The larger, lower-DWPD drive is often the better choice — typically cheaper and more available, with capacity headroom as a bonus.
Storage Nodes
Storage nodes participate in the vSAN and contribute disk capacity to the shared storage pool. In an HCI deployment, storage nodes also run workloads. In a UCI deployment, they may be dedicated exclusively to storage.
Minimum Specifications
CPU
2.7 GHz+
Handles vSAN I/O processing
RAM
16 GB + 1 GB per 1 TB of raw storage
Per-node; scales with disk capacity
Primary Storage
1 x Enterprise NVMe or SAS/SATA SSD per node
For workload I/O (primary storage tier)
Capacity/Archive Tier (Tier 4+)
Enterprise HDDs (optional)
For snapshots, archives, or file-based services. VergeOS does not auto-tier (no automatic data movement), but an administrator can change a volume's or file's preferred tier, which triggers a non-disruptive background migration
Redundancy
At least 2 nodes with matching disk configuration
Required for vSAN data redundancy
Recommended Specifications
CPU
3.0 GHz+, 1 core per disk
Dedicated core per disk improves I/O throughput
RAM
1.5 GB per 1 TB of storage per node
Better performance under heavy workloads
Primary Storage
2+ NVMe or SAS/SATA SSDs per node
More spindles = more IOPS
Redundancy
At least 2 nodes with matching disk configuration
Required for vSAN data redundancy
RAM Sizing Example
To illustrate the RAM calculation for a storage node:
At the recommended 1.5 GB/TB ratio, the storage overhead would be 12 GB instead of 8 GB, bringing the total to 124 GB.
Compute-Only Nodes
Compute-only nodes run workloads but do not participate in the vSAN. They have no local storage requirements beyond a boot device (or can PXE boot). This makes them ideal for scaling CPU and RAM independently from storage in UCI and HCI+Compute architectures.
CPU
Sized for workload requirements
RAM
Sized for workload requirements (16 GB minimum for VergeOS)
Storage
Boot device only (or PXE boot) -- no vSAN disks
Networking
Same generic NIC requirements as all nodes
Compute-only nodes are the simplest to size: determine the aggregate CPU and RAM your workloads need, divide by the per-node capacity, and round up to maintain N+1 availability.
Networking Recommendations
The minimum networking configuration (1 GbE external + 1 x 10 GbE core) is suitable for small or proof-of-concept deployments. For production environments, follow these recommendations:
Core Fabric NICs
2 x 25/40/100 GbE (Intel, NVIDIA Mellanox, or Broadcom). Dual NICs provide redundancy for the core fabric -- the high-speed mesh that carries vSAN replication, VM migration, and inter-node traffic. Jumbo frames are required on the core fabric: VergeOS sets node NICs to ~9192, and the switch ports they connect to must be configured for ≥9216 so those frames pass without fragmentation.
External NICs
2 x 10/25/40/100 GbE (Intel, NVIDIA Mellanox, or Broadcom). Dual external NICs support bonding for redundancy and bandwidth to the upstream network. These carry management UI access and tenant external traffic.
Supported NIC Vendors
VergeOS supports network adapters from three vendors:
Intel -- Broad compatibility across different series
NVIDIA Mellanox -- High-performance ConnectX series
Broadcom -- Enterprise-grade NICs
Consumer-grade or off-brand NICs are not supported. Using unsupported NICs may result in driver compatibility issues, poor performance, or system instability.
Maximum Supported Specifications
The following table outlines the maximum supported hardware specifications as of VergeOS version 4.12:
Nodes per system
200
Across all clusters
Individual physical disk size
64 TB
Per physical drive
RAM per host
5 TB
vSAN nodes require 1 GB RAM per 1 TB storage
vDisk size
256 TB
Per virtual disk
Disks per VM
2,000
Requires Virtio-SCSI interface
Clusters per system
100
Mix of compute, storage, and HCI clusters
Storage tiers per system
5
5 workload tiers (Tier 1 high-performance through Tier 5 archive); Tier 0 metadata is separate and system-only
vSAN fault domains per system
2
Provides data redundancy
These limits accommodate extremely large-scale deployments. Most production environments operate well within these boundaries.
Storage Warnings and Considerations
Consumer-Grade Disks
Consumer-Grade Disks Not Supported
VergeOS does not officially support consumer-grade disks. Only enterprise-grade storage devices should be used in production environments and backups of production data. Consumer-grade disks may be acceptable for test, development, or proof-of-concept environments where data loss is tolerable. Some consumer-grade devices may not function properly due to firmware limitations, non-standard command implementations, or compatibility issues with VergeOS.
Large HDD Considerations
HDDs larger than 8 TB are not recommended outside of archive-specific environments. The concern is rebuild time. vSAN does not rebuild automatically when a drive fails — an operator kicks off a repair that rebuilds the lost data onto a hot spare or replacement drive. With an 8 TB+ drive, that rebuild can take many hours — often days — during which:
System performance is degraded as rebuild I/O competes with production workloads
Availability risk increases because a second drive failure during rebuild could cause data loss
The rebuild window grows proportionally with drive size
For primary workload tiers, prefer smaller, faster SSDs. Reserve large HDDs for snapshot retention, archival storage, or file-based service tiers where rebuild time is an acceptable trade-off.
Fibre Channel LUNs as Storage
VergeOS vSAN can also consume Fibre Channel (FC) LUNs as storage devices within its tiers, which is useful for integrating existing SAN investments. VergeOS treats each FC LUN like a local physical disk, so native redundancy and deduplication still apply. Key requirements:
Present unique LUNs per node — never share the same LUN across multiple nodes
FC HBAs in at least two nodes; a redundant FC fabric is recommended
Disable RAID and auto-tiering on the SAN — VergeOS handles redundancy natively
Keep Tier 0 metadata on direct-attached NVMe — external storage is not recommended for Tier 0
Verge.io still recommends direct-attached disks for best performance and simplicity; use FC LUNs primarily when you have existing SAN infrastructure or specific compliance requirements. See Using Fibre Channel Storage with vSAN for setup details.
Dedicated vs. Shared Controller Nodes
For production environments, VergeOS recommends dedicated controller nodes -- nodes that handle only the vSAN metadata (Tier 0) and system management, without running guest workloads or contributing to workload storage tiers.
Shared controllers
2-node clusters, PoC, dev/test
Fewer nodes, but metadata I/O competes with workloads
Dedicated controllers
Production, 4+ nodes
Extra nodes, but metadata operations are isolated and predictable
Sizing Quick Reference
Use this quick-reference card when scoping a new deployment:
How much RAM per storage node?
16 GB base + 1 GB per 1 TB raw (minimum) or 1.5 GB per 1 TB (recommended)
How many Tier 0 drives?
1 per controller (minimum), 2 per controller (recommended)
How large should Tier 0 be?
5 GB per 1 TB usable (minimum), 10 GB per 1 TB usable (recommended)
What DWPD for Tier 0?
3 DWPD or equivalent (enterprise NVMe)
How many cores per storage disk?
1 core per disk (recommended)
Minimum nodes for vSAN?
2 nodes with matching disk configuration
Maximum nodes per system?
200
Core fabric NIC speed?
10 GbE minimum; 25/100 GbE recommended
Next Steps
Now that you understand the hardware requirements for each node role, continue to:
Reference Architectures -- See how these requirements map to real-world deployment topologies (HCI, HCI+Compute, UCI)
Customer Scoping -- Learn the methodology for translating customer workloads into hardware specifications
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