VMware Inc. is looking for beta testers of the latest version of its virtual storage area network (VSAN).

In a blog post, VMware’s chief technologist for Storage & Availability Duncan Epping announced that the company is “looking for feedback” on three key new features in VSAN, which are: “Software data-at-rest encryption”; “Nested Fault Domains” (Fds) for two-layer protection of stretched clusters across sites and locally; and “new operational management enhancements”, which include vRA integration, health checks from vCenter, monitoring networking stats, and more.

With the new encryption-at-rest feature, VMware is essentially catching up with hardware SANs, which have had the feature for years. It’s not an essential feature, but it’s certainly nice to have, and with VSANs running on servers with a minimum of half-a-dozen cores they should pack more than enough punch to handle it without any performance issues.

The nested fault domains should ensure greater reliability for VSANs in wide-area configurations. The feature “allows you to protect your data within a site and across sites at the same time in a stretched cluster. In other words: RAID-1 across site and then RAID-1, 5 or 6 within a site,” Epping said.

Last but not least, the enhancements Epping speaks of essentially mean deeper integration with VMware’s management suite, which is hardly a surprise given that the company recently revealed plans to entice customers into its Cloud Foundation, which encompasses VSAN, vSphere, NSX and vRealize Automation.

Those interested in becoming beta testers can sign up here. There’s no word on when the next version of VSAN will hit general availability.

Image via SiliconANGLE