Best Enterprise SSD for VMware vSAN — 2026 Buyer's Guide
VMware vSAN performance is dominated by SSD selection. Cache-tier and capacity-tier SSDs serve different roles and have different durability requirements. Picking the right ones at each tier delivers 3-5× performance vs. mismatched configs.
Top cache-tier SSDs (write-intensive)
Samsung PM1735 — 1.6 TB / 3.2 TB / 6.4 TB NVMe U.2. 3 DWPD endurance. The standard vSAN cache-tier choice. Refurbished: $400-700 (1.6 TB).
Intel Optane DC P5800X — 400 GB / 800 GB / 1.6 TB. Massively low latency (~7μs). Highest DWPD (>100). Premium tier — $1,200-2,500 new.
Samsung PM1733 — Previous generation, still excellent. 1.6 / 3.2 TB. Refurbished: $300-500.
Top capacity-tier SSDs (read-intensive)
Samsung PM9A3 — 1.92 / 3.84 / 7.68 TB NVMe U.2. 1 DWPD endurance. The most-deployed vSAN capacity tier in 2026. Refurbished: $200-450.
Intel D7-P5520 — 1.92 / 3.84 / 7.68 TB. 1 DWPD. Strong alternative to Samsung — same performance tier. New: $400-800.
Micron 7450 PRO — 1.92 / 3.84 / 7.68 / 15.36 TB. 1 DWPD. Up to 15.36 TB density. Refurbished: $500-1,500.
vSAN node SSD layout
Standard 4-disk-group node: 4× Samsung PM1735 1.6 TB cache + 16-24× Samsung PM9A3 7.68 TB capacity = 122-184 TB raw capacity per node. 3-node cluster = ~370-550 TB raw, ~250-370 TB usable with default policies.
Frequently asked questions
Why does vSAN need different cache and capacity SSDs?
Cache tier handles ALL writes first (then de-stages to capacity). Cache SSDs need high DWPD (3+) and low latency. Capacity tier handles steady-state reads. Capacity SSDs prioritize $/TB over endurance — 1 DWPD is fine. Using high-DWPD SSDs as capacity is wasteful; using low-DWPD SSDs as cache fails fast.
Can I run vSAN on SATA SSDs?
Yes but only for Hybrid vSAN (SSD cache + HDD capacity). All-Flash vSAN requires NVMe or SAS SSDs for the capacity tier — SATA is too slow for the performance VMware targets. Most new vSAN deployments are All-Flash NVMe.
What is DWPD?
Drive Writes Per Day — how many times you can completely overwrite the drive every day for the warranty period (typically 5 years). A 3.84 TB drive with 1 DWPD endures 3.84 TB/day × 365 × 5 = 7 PB total writes. Most vSAN capacity tier workloads use 0.3-0.5 DWPD in practice.
Are these SSDs on the VMware vSAN HCL?
Samsung PM1735, PM9A3, Intel D7-P5520, Optane P5800X, Micron 7450 are all on the VMware vSAN Hardware Compatibility List as of 2026. Always validate the specific drive model and firmware level against vSAN HCL before production deployment.
Related resources
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