The Broadcom Compatibility Guide (formerly the hardware compatibility list). Uncertified disks are why vSAN ESA validation says "not HCL compatible"; vSphere Lifecycle Manager does the checking. Unrelated to HashiCorp Configuration Language.
Also called hardware compatibility list.
Read more: Broadcom TechDocs
In the Ultra Transcenders books
Each book explains HCL in context, with comparison tables and the common traps.
Terms in this definition
- Broadcom Compatibility Guide
Previously called the VMware Compatibility Guide, this Broadcom website records which firmware, devices and hardware are certified for use with vSAN, ESX and other products. vSphere Lifecycle Manager uses it when validating hosts and suggesting images.
- HCL
Hardware compatibility list, nowadays found in the Broadcom Compatibility Guide with the vSAN HCL database. vLCM consults it before it upgrades or remediates.
- vSAN ESA
Newer vSAN design built for NVMe, with one tier and storage pools rather than disk groups. OSA is the older design, using two tiers.
- Validation
Testing the delivered solution against stakeholder needs and agreed quality levels (verification, by contrast, checks the build against the design). Its strategy defines measurable acceptance criteria per requirement, test types, entry and exit criteria, roles and sign-off.
- HashiCorp Configuration Language
HCL: the declarative syntax Terraform and Packer templates are written in. Despite the initials, it has nothing to do with VMware's hardware compatibility list.
- vSphere Lifecycle Manager
Service in vCenter for installing, updating and upgrading ESX hosts and clusters based on a desired image. From 9.0, host upgrades cannot be done with baselines.