Reply to post: Where would it fit?

Where would it fit?

Microsoft and OpenStack currently implement hyperconverged storage in their systems with full API support and integration between management, compute, storage and networking technologies. VMware does not support hyperconverged storage at all since they haven't built an application container (think vApp) that can describe location independent storage without reference to SCSI LUNs (local, iSCSI or FC). As such, at this time, VMware doesn't support either hyperconverged storage or networking.

So, except for making half-assed attempts at running traditional storage on compute nodes (definitely a good start but very definitely not hyperconverged), where would this fit?

Just remember that hyperconverged requires that you have to do more than just run traditional storage on the same box as compute. It has to actually be converged. Meaning that storage and networking is part of the application itself.

As I said, both Windows and OpenStack clearly define how to achieve this and both support Docker style apps (container or otherwise) through a standard API which actually supports hyperconverged. Adding high speed storage makes it faster, but replacing Storage Spaces or Swift actually hurts the system by introducing unnecessary levels of management and abstraction.

So, if VMware ever learns how make a current generation solution, the market for hyperconverged storage won't exist any longer. It would be like buying a new car and then trying to add a second engine to it that actually made the car slower because of the extra weight.