Attending VMworld And Interested In vSphere 6.5 Security? Try My “vSphere 6.5 Security – Getting Started” Lab!

Attending VMworld And Interested In vSphere 6.5 Security?

Try My “vSphere 6.5 Security – Getting Started” Lab!

If you are attending VMworld US 2017 from August 27-31st in Las Vegas, NV and you are interested in the new vSphere 6.5 Security feature sets, then I have a lab for you! I am a lab captain for the Hands On Labs and have two labs that I created for this years VMworld sessions.

These new labs as well as the many other will only be available at the VMworld US and Europe conferences initially. After both conferences are over, we slowly release most of the new labs to the public-facing Hands On Labs environment that anyone can get to with an internet connection. You will see some labs to start showing up on the public side right after VMworld and then the rest typically will be released within or month or so. No guarantee on what labs will make it to the public site and when they will show up though, that is just what I’ve typically seen over the past few years.

This is my first time as a lab captain and creating labs, so I would love to see some HUGE numbers of people taking my labs! It would make me feel good knowing that people learned something by taking my labs. If you end up taking either lab at VMworld or even after they have been released to the public-facing HOL site, let me know what you think! You can reach out to me on my social media outlets, the links to them are on the right side of the page.

Public Facing – Hands On Labs Site:  labs.hol.vmware.com

Below are the labs that I have built and a summary of each of them:

  • (HOL-1811-01-SDC) vSphere 6.5 – What’s New:
    • Description:  Explore some of the new features of vSphere 6.5 including VM Encryption, vCenter High Availability, and the new HTML5 vSphere Client. You will also learn about the improved vCenter Server Appliance and how to migrate from a Windows-based vCenter Server installation.
  • (HOL-1811-04-SDC) vSphere 6.5 Security – Getting Started:
    • Description:  Experience new security features of vSphere 6.5, including VM Encryption, Audit Quality Logging, Encrypted vMotion, Key. We also use our vRealize Log Insight solution to look at the enhanced logging of the vCenter server logs. Add Key Management Servers (KMS) to the vCenter server and create a trust between them. Then we use PowerCLI commands to encrypt/decrypt virtual machines as well as other encryption related tasks.

Don’t forget to stop into the Hands On Labs at VMworld and take some labs…see you there!

 

 

 

New Content – vSphere 6.5 Upgrade/Migration & VMware Posters Links!

New Content – vSphere 6.5

Upgrade/Migration & VMware Posters Links!

 

 

Many VMware customers tend to wait to upgrade to the next version for several reasons. Some of these are no time to do the upgrade, scared of issues that may arise during the upgrade process especially from vSphere 5.x versions, or wanting to wait until the first update is out so that all the fixes have been addressed. These are all valid concerns in which I can appreciate due to my operation experience and background supporting vSphere environments!

On July 21, 2017, VMware released vSphere 6.5 Update 1 which has many enhancements. Once of the enhancements that most are excited about is the fact that the new HTML5-based vSphere Web Client is now at approximately 90% feature parity to the old Java-based vSphere Web Client which was know for being slow and clunky. Hopefully, by the next update of vSphere, the HTML5 client will be at full feature parity. At which time, VMware will retire the old Java-based client.

The HTML5 client enhancements are just one of numerous reasons why you should consider updating to vSphere 6.5. Another primary reason is that there are many new featured within the vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) like embedded Backup/Restore Tool, vSphere Update Manager is embedded, and the new vCenter Server Appliance High Availability (HA) configuration option. So there are some great enhancements that should encourage you to upgrade to the latest version of vSphere and vCenter server!

VMware has created a Migration Assistance Tool to help migrate your vSphere 5.5/6.x environments to the new vSphere 6.5. Even if you are currently running a Windows based version of vCenter in the older version, the tool can migrate the vCenter database, performance data and metrics, etc. to the new vCenter Server Appliance 6.5. There are several supported migration options based on your vCenter server, Single-Sign-On (SSO), or Platform Service Controller (PSC) architectures you may be currently running.

So take a look at my Useful Links page on this site to see the links to below resources that can help you migrate to the new vSphere 6.5!

  • Top Reasons to Upgrade to vSphere 6.5 Infographic
  • vSphere 6.5 Upgrade Considerations – Part 1
  • vSphere 6.5 Upgrade Considerations – Part 2
  • Announcing the vSphere 6.5 Topology and Upgrade Planning Tool
  • vCenter Server Appliance 6.5 Migration Walkthrough
  • VMware Doc’s – Migration Assistance Tool
  • vSphere 6.5 – Upgrade Guide
  • VMware vCenter Server Appliance Poster
  • Platform Services Controller Topology Decision Tree Poster

 

Click here to go to the Useful Links tab within my website!

Tampa, FL VMUG Event (2/16/17) – You Can Still Register To Attend!!

 

Tampa, FL VMUG Event (2/16/17) –

You Can Still Register To Attend!!

 

For all those that live and work in the Tampa, FL area, tomorrow evening from 6 – 8:30PM there will be the Tampa VMUG event. Tintri Storage is the main sponsor of the event and they will be presenting their storage solutions.

I will personally be presenting for VMware on “What’s New in vSphere 6.5” at the event as well. So if you live in the area, make sure you register for the event and attend. Even better the event is being held at the Tampa Brewing Company, what’s better than learning some great technology and trying some local beer!

Top

Last Chance to Register:   Tampa VMUG Meeting

 Don’t miss your opportunity to attend the upcoming Tampa VMUG Meeting taking place on February 16, 2017, from 6:00 p.m to 8:30 p.m.

Registration is open and available to all VMUG members. This is a great opportunity to meet with your peers to ask questions, discuss trends, best practices, and the latest technology!

Meeting Topics:   

  • Tintri Overview Presentation/Demo
  • How Tintri is integrating into Social Media
  • Customer Presentation on Horizon View implementation
  • Whats new in vSphere 6.5
  • Brewery Tours (10 at a time) – Attendees will get a take home pint glass and free beer ticket
  • Food will be provided

Location:

Tampa Bay Brewing Company
Centro Ybor, 1600 E 8th Ave
Tampa, FL 33605

Click HERE for directions.

Be sure to share this meeting information with your colleagues.

Visit the Tampa VMUG Community page to connect with members, ask questions, and get involved!

For questions, please contact memberservices@vmug.com.

Meeting Sponsor

 

VMware VM .vswp file – Points Every VMware Administrator should know!!!!!

VMware VM .vswp file – Points Every VMware Administrator should know!!!!! – via Virtualization the Future

VMware VM .vswp file – Points Every VMware…

For every powered on VM a .vswp file is created in VM’s datastore, this file is needed by the hypervisor to satisfy the VM memory demand in case of over-commitment is done and as well as when vm memory limit is configured. This gets created when the VM is powered on and deleted when VM is powered off.


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How to revert an ESXi host to a previous version using DCUI

How to revert an ESXi host to a previous version using DCUI

How to revert an ESXi host to a previous…

This video demonstrates how to revert an ESXi host to a previous version using the Direct User Console Interface (DCUI).


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A no-fuss guide to an ESXi 6.5 upgrade

A no-fuss guide to an ESXi 6.5 upgrade – via TechTarget

A no-fuss guide to an ESXi 6.5 upgrade

The latest version of VMware vSphere comes with a substantial version upgrade for its core hypervisor platform. Implement an ESXi upgrade by following these steps.


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VMware vSphere 6.5 Embedded Update Manager (VUM) Demo

VMware vSphere 6.5 Embedded Update Manager (VUM) Demo

VMware vSphere 6.5 Embedded Update Manager…

In VMware vSphere 6.5, Update Manager (VUM) is now fully embedded with the vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA). See an overview of the user interface and how to upgrade a cluster to VMware ESXi 6.5.


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I want a vCSA 6.5 Database Backup

I want a vCSA 6.5 Database Backup – via VirtualPad

I want a vCSA 6.5 Database Backup

Whenever you decide backing up the vCSA 6.5 Database, as part as the greatest features of vSphere 6.5, these are a few tips to consider:


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vSphere 6.5 Encrypted vMotion Architecture and Performance

vSphere 6.5 Encrypted vMotion Architecture and Performance

vSphere 6.5 Encrypted vMotion Architecture and…

With the rise in popularity of hybrid cloud computing, where VM sensitive data leaves the traditional IT environment and traverses over the public networks, IT administrators and architects need a simple and secure way to protect critical VM data that traverses across clouds and over long distances.


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vSphere Client (HTML5) Fling v3.0 – OVF Deploy (6.5 only), New VM from Content Library, Create Roles

vSphere Client (HTML5) Fling v3.0 – OVF Deploy (6.5 only), New VM from Content Library, Create Roles

vSphere Client (HTML5) Fling v3.0 – OVF Deploy…

Today we’re happy to announce version 3.0 of the HTML5 based vSphere Client Fling. For a long while we’ve been running with 2.x, but now there’s a big enough change that warrants a new version. There are a few big things available now (3 new, one very recent) which are worth highlighting:


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Getting Started with vSphere’s Datacenter Command-Line Interface

Getting Started with vSphere’s Datacenter Command-Line Interface

Getting Started with vSphere’s Datacenter…

Datacenter Command-Line Interface (DCLI) is one of vSphere’s newest CLIs. DCLI works exclusively with the vSphere Automation API (REST API for vSphere) to provide both an interactive and scriptable mode to monitor and manage all features made available to the REST based API.


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What’s New in vSphere 6.5 Paper

What’s New in vSphere 6.5 Paper

What’s New in vSphere 6.5 Paper

Ever since we announced vSphere 6.5 at VMworld Europe 2016, the reaction we’ve heard has been overwhelmingly positive. It’s easy to see why, with major new features in areas ranging from vCenter Server and the VCSA, to Security, to the new developer and automation APIs and CLIs. vSphere 6.5 also features important enhancements to core The post What’s New in vSphere 6.5 Paper appeared first on VMware vSphere Blog .


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vSphere 6.5 Component Password Recovery (vCenter, SSO and ESXi)

vSphere 6.5 Component Password Recovery (vCenter, SSO and ESXi)

vSphere 6.5 Component Password Recovery…

Everyone knows the situation where you can’t log into a system because you have forgotten the password. The following article explains how to reset the password and regain access to VMware vS…Read More


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Test-Drive The Full Capabilities Of vSphere 6.5 By Running The New Hands-On Lab!

Test-drive the full capabilities of vSphere 6.5 by running the new hands-on lab!

Test-drive the full capabilities of vSphere 6.5…

Explore new features of vSphere 6.5 including encrypted VMs, HTML5 Host Client and the vCenter Server appliance. – See more at: https://my.vmware.com/en/web/vmware/evalcenter?p=vsphere-17-hol#sthash.uLIjx4Wl.dpuf


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Basic VMware Security Tools and Practices

Basic VMware Security Tools and Practices

Basic VMware Security Tools and Practices

I had the pleasure of joining my first ever internal security conference called MooseCon (Making Our Organization Security Experts Conference). There were a variety of topics discussed, but one particular talk by Noah Wasmer, Senior Vice President of Mobile Products, stayed with me the most. Noah discussed recent cyber attacks in the news, and he asked, “If you were on the front page of the Wall Street Journal because of a security breach, what would that do to your business?”


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Upgrade vSphere 6.0 to 6.5 by Offline Bundle

Upgrade vSphere 6.0 to 6.5 by Offline Bundle

Upgrade vSphere 6.0 to 6.5 by Offline Bundle

In previous post, we have learnt how to upgrade vSphere 6.5 via vSphere 6.5 installation ISO and Update Manager 6.5 (VUM). Now we will learn how to upgrade vSphere 6.0 to 6.5 via Office Bundle.


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5 Things You (and Your Clients) Need to Know about vSphere 6.5

5 Things You (and Your Clients) Need to Know about vSphere 6.5 — MSPmentor Blog

5 Things You (and Your Clients) Need to Know…

VMware vSphere, the next-generation infrastructure for next-generation applications, has been updated with a number of new capabilities.


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VMware vSphere 6.5 GUI Client Options — Virtualization the Future

VMware vSphere 6.5 GUI Client Options — Virtualization the Future

VMware vSphere 6.5 GUI Client Options –…

As vSphere 6.5 came with a lot of changes, one of the change in this is new GUI clients (Old vSphere Client is DEAD now). Let’s have a look…Read More


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Upgrading ESXi Using vSphere Update Manager 6.5 on the vCenter Server Appliance

Upgrading ESXi Using vSphere Update Manager 6.5 on the vCenter Server Appliance – vMiss.net

Upgrading ESXi Using vSphere Update Manager 6.5…

If you’re looking to upgrade ESXi to vSphere 6.5, look no further than vSphere Update Manager 6.5, which has been recently integrated with the vCenter Server Appliance. vSphere Update Manager is no…


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The Security Features in vSphere 6.5 – RJ Approves

The Security Features in vSphere 6.5 – RJ Approves

The Security Features in vSphere 6.5 – RJ Approves

Its refreshing to see VMware put efforts and focus on security features in the vSphere 6.5 release this year. VM encryption, vMotion encryption and VM Secure boot are a few to name. I will briefly …Read More


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New vSphere 6.5 features: Updates to DRS, High Availability and More

New vSphere 6.5 features: Updates to DRS, High Availability and More – TechTarget

New vSphere 6.5 features: Updates to DRS, High…

The latest version of vSphere offers major improvements to VMware resource management services, including the Distributed Resource Scheduler and High Availability.


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What’s New in vSphere 6.5: vSphere Integrated Containers

What’s New in vSphere 6.5: vSphere Integrated Containers – VMware vSphere Blog

What’s New in vSphere 6.5: vSphere Integrated…

Last year we introduced Project Bonneville. The idea behind it, at the high level, is that there is a strong parallel between the constructs Docker uses inside a Linux Docker host and the constructs ESXi uses as a hypervisor. In the final analysis what project Bonneville allowed you to do is to run a docker The post What’s New in vSphere 6.5: vSphere Integrated Containers appeared first on VMware vSphere Blog .


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What’s New in vSphere 6.5: vSphere Integrated Containers

What’s New in vSphere 6.5: vSphere Integrated Containers – VMware vSphere Blog

What’s New in vSphere 6.5: vSphere Integrated…

Last year we introduced Project Bonneville. The idea behind it, at the high level, is that there is a strong parallel between the constructs Docker uses inside a Linux Docker host and the constructs ESXi uses as a hypervisor. In the final analysis what project Bonneville allowed you to do is to run a docker The post What’s New in vSphere 6.5: vSphere Integrated Containers appeared first on VMware vSphere Blog .


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vSphere 6.5 Training

vSphere 6.5 Training

vSphere 6.5 Training

Be ready to take advantage of all everything vSphere 6.5 can provide with training from VMware Education Services.


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How to Upgrade a ESXi 6.0 to ESXi 6.5 via VMware Update Manager (VUM)

How to Upgrade a ESXi 6.0 to ESXi 6.5 via VMware Update Manager (VUM) – ESX Virtualization

How to upgrade a ESXi 6.0 to ESXi 6.5 via…

There are many ways to upgrade VMware ESXi Hypervisor. Depending on whether the host is part of a cluster or not, managed via vCenter server or standalone host. Also, you might consider different scenario if you have 2-3 hosts to upgrade or if you need to upgrade 25 hosts or more. So it depends on use. […] Read the full post How to upgrade a ESXi 6.0 to ESXi 6.5 via VMware Update Manager at ESX Virtualization .


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How to Create a USB Media with ESXi 6.5 Installation

How to create a USB media with ESXi 6.5 Installation – vladan.fr

How to create a USB media with ESXi 6.5…

A few days back we learned about How to upgrade our ESXi 6.0 host via ISO or CD-ROM. Not every server today has a CD-ROM drive, so as an alternative, USB flash drive is usually used. But you need to prepare this USB media and create an installation USB stick first. Today we’ll show you […] Read the full post How to create a USB media with ESXi 6.5 Installation at ESX Virtualization.


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Creating ISCSI Targets Using Virtual SAN (vSAN) 6.5

Creating ISCSI Target using vSAN 6.5 – virtualizationblog.com

Creating ISCSI Target using vSAN 6.5 -…

vSAN 6.5 also extended workload support to physical servers using ISCSI Target Service providing vSAN functionality such as deduplication, compression, mirroring, and erasure coding, RAID-1, RAID-5, RAID-6.


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VMware vSphere 6.5 Storage – VMFS 6 with Automatic UNMAP to Reclaim Dead Blocks

VMware vSphere 6.5 Storage – VMFS 6 with Automatic UNMAP to Reclaim Dead blocks – vladan.fr

VMware vSphere 6.5 Storage – VMFS 6 with…

VMware vSphere 6.5 has also new updated file system VMFS-6. We haven’t talked about it just yet, as there is so much to cover. We have covered so far the vCenter upgrades, ESXi upgrades (via ISO/CD-ROM, but also via VMware Online Depot or Via “Offline Bundle”.


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Install VMware ESXi 6.5 on Intel NUC (Part 1/2)…

Install VMware ESXi 6.5 on Intel NUC (Part 1/2) – T.B.D.

Install VMware ESXi 6.5 on Intel NUC (Part 1/2)…

With VMware vSphere 6.5 released recently, I decided to rebuild my Intel NUC based homelab.


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vSphere C# Client officially gone in vSphere…

vSphere C# Client officially gone in vSphere 6.5 but what are the HTML5 client limitations – vsphere-land.com

vSphere C# Client officially gone in vSphere…

Earlier this year I wrote about the end of life for our beloved vSphere C# thick client. Now that vSphere 6.5 is here VMware delivered on their promise to eliminate the C# client in vSphere 6.5 in lieu of the new HTML5 client that they have been working on to replace the current flash-based vSphere web client that everybody hates on.


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VMware vSphere 6.5 Configurations Maximums – New Whitepaper

VMware vSphere 6.5 Configurations Maximums – new whitepaper

VMware vSphere 6.5 Configurations Maximums -…

This document supports the version of each product listed and supports all subsequent versions until the document is replaced by a new edition. To check for more recent editions of this document, see http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs


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VMware ESXi 6.5 – ESXCLI Command Reference

VMware ESXi 6.5 – ESXCLI Command Reference – Virten.net

VMware ESXi 6.5 – ESXCLI Command Reference -…

ESXCLI is a powerful command line tool on an ESXi host. You may need it for troubleshooting, configuration or for automated ESXi installations by using a kickstart file. I’m having a esxcli c…Read More


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vSphere 6.5 – Automate VCSA Backup

vSphere 6.5 – Automate VCSA Backup – Brian Graf’s Virtualization Blog

vSphere 6.5 – Automate VCSA Backup – Brian…

I recently attended the Orlando VMUG Usercon and had been discussing many of the great features of the vSphere 6.5 release that was announced at VMworld Barcelona. I began to chat with Rob P., an attendee of the conference, about VCSA backup.


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Get This Week's List of VMware's Solutions That Went GA!

Get This Week’s List of VMware’s Solutions That Went GA!

 

images

 

The below are the list of VMware solutions that have been Generally Announced (GA) for this week Be sure to know about these and especially look at the details surrounding the vSphere/vSAN 6.5 announcement!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • PowerCLI 6.5 Release 1

Get This Week’s List of VMware’s Solutions That Went GA!

Get This Week’s List of VMware’s Solutions That Went GA!

 

images

 

The below are the list of VMware solutions that have been Generally Announced (GA) for this week Be sure to know about these and especially look at the details surrounding the vSphere/vSAN 6.5 announcement!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • PowerCLI 6.5 Release 1

A comparison of VMFS5 & VMFS6 in vSphere 6.5 -…

A comparison of VMFS5 & VMFS6 in vSphere 6.5 – vsphere-land.com

A comparison of VMFS5 & VMFS6 in vSphere 6.5 -…

vSphere 6.5 has introduced a new VMFS version 6 and there are a few changes in it compared to VMFS version 5 that you should be aware of.


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A comparison of VMFS5 & VMFS6 in vSphere 6.5 -…

A comparison of VMFS5 & VMFS6 in vSphere 6.5 – vsphere-land.com

A comparison of VMFS5 & VMFS6 in vSphere 6.5 -…

vSphere 6.5 has introduced a new VMFS version 6 and there are a few changes in it compared to VMFS version 5 that you should be aware of.


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vSphere 6.5 & Virtual SAN (vSAN) 6.5 Now Generally Available (GA)!

vSphere 6.5 & Virtual SAN (vSAN) 6.5

Now Generally Available (GA)!

images

 

vSphere 6.5:

There are 3 themes for vSphere 6.5:

  • Simplified Experience – 
    • simplified architecture (integrated vCenter Server Appliance, Update Manager included all-in-one), no Windows/SQL licensing
    • Native High Availability (HA) of vCenter for the appliance is built-in – Automatic failover (Web Client may require re-login)
    • Native Backup and Restore of vCenter appliance – Simplified backup and restore with a new native file-based solution. Restore the vCenter Server configuration to a fresh appliance and stream backups to external storage using HTTP, FTP, or SCP protocols.
    • New HTML5-based vSphere Client that is both responsive and easy to use (Based on our new Clarity UI)
  • Built-In Security – 
    • Encryption at rest and in motion – new VM-level encryption capability designed to protect against unauthorized data access. When used with vSphere vMotion, this capability safeguards both data at rest and data in motion
    • secure boot model to make sure images have not been tampered with and to prevent the loading of unauthorized vSphere component
    • secure access, vSphere 6.5 provides multi-factor authentication. You can now configure vCenter Server permissions to require 2-Factor authentication using both a password and a smartcard or RSA key. Plus, vSphere 6.5 offers enhanced audit-quality logging capabilities that provide more information about user actions. IT can now access auditable trails if an investigation into anomalies or security threats require it.
  • Universal App Platform – universal app platform that supports both traditional and next-generation apps (including 3D graphics, big data, machine learning environments, SAP Hana, and SaaS)… vSphere 6.5 expands its workload coverage model by focusing on both scale-up and scale-out next-gen apps that are increasingly built using evolving technology building blocks, such as containers.
    • VIC is extends vSphere capabilities to run container workloads and sits on top of vCenter, and integrates with the rest of the VMware stack like NSX and vSAN…
      • vSphere Integrated Containers where we are enabling the best of both worlds for contained based cloud native apps…
      • vSphere Integrated Containers is the easiest way for vSphere users to bring containers into an existing environment.
      • Integrated containers deliver an enterprise container infrastructure that provides the best of both worlds for the developer and vSphere operations team.
      • Containers are now just as easy to enable and manage as virtual machines.
      • For cloud native apps, there are two audiences we are trying to serve, one is the developers, they want to leverage native docker interface, using the tools that they are familiar with.
      • For IT, operations guys, they want to have control and visibility of these category of applications, they like to leverage tools and processes they have honed in over the years.
    • newly released VMware Cloud Foundation and VMware Cloud Foundation Service are built on vSphere 6.5.
  • IMPORTANT NOTE:  Please be sure to check the vSphere 6.5 compatibility blog (see KB 2147548) before upgrading to vSphere 6.5 if you are currently using other VMware solutions.

 

     vSphere 6.5 Announcement:  https://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2016/10/introducing-vsphere-6-5.html

     vSphere 6.5 Release Notes: http://pubs.vmware.com/Release_Notes/en/vsphere/65/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-65-release-notes.html

     Download:  https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/info/slug/datacenter_cloud_infrastructure/vmware_vsphere/6_5

vsan1

 

Virtual SAN (VSAN) 6.5:

  • Additional TCO Savings by…
    • Offering New Workload types such as Cloud-Native Apps and the ability for Physical workloads to point to the VSAN datastore via iSCSI
      • vSphere
        • Works off-the-shelf with Docker, Swarm, Kubernetes, …
        • Persistent Docker Volume Driver
      • vSphere Integrated Containers
        • Docker API Compatibility
        • Persistent Volume Driver
        • VM-like container isolation
      • Photon Platform
        • New VSAN for Photon Platform release available
      • Non-virtualized workloads can utilize VSAN for storage (using iSCSI initiators)
    • Support of All-Flash hardware in Virtual SAN (VSAN) STANDARD
    • While eliminating the cost of networking hardware for (2)-Node ROBO deployments.
      • Eliminate router/switch costs by connecting two nodes directly using crossover cables
      • Supports two cross over cables between the
        2-Nodes for higher availability of network
      • Separates VSAN data traffic from witness VM traffic
    • Then we can Accelerate Responsiveness of the business by…
      • Providing a Full-Featured PowerCLI tool to fully automate operational tasks.
      • And then separating witness and Virtual SAN (VSAN) traffic for Stretched Clusters.
    • We have accelerated the adoption of HCI with the support of Next-Gen Hardware
      • By increasing the Cache Sizing
      • As well as now support large capacity drives through the 512e drives.

 

     Virtual SAN (vSAN) Announcement:  https://blogs.vmware.com/virtualblocks/2016/10/18/vmware-virtual-san-6-5-whats-new/

     vSAN 6.5 Release Notes:  http://pubs.vmware.com/Release_Notes/en/vsan/65/vmware-virtual-san-65-release-notes.html

     Download:  https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/info/slug/datacenter_cloud_infrastructure/vmware_vsan/6_5

 

vSphere 6.5 & Virtual SAN (vSAN) 6.5 Now Generally Available (GA)!

vSphere 6.5 & Virtual SAN (vSAN) 6.5

Now Generally Available (GA)!

images

 

vSphere 6.5:

There are 3 themes for vSphere 6.5:

  • Simplified Experience – 
    • simplified architecture (integrated vCenter Server Appliance, Update Manager included all-in-one), no Windows/SQL licensing
    • Native High Availability (HA) of vCenter for the appliance is built-in – Automatic failover (Web Client may require re-login)
    • Native Backup and Restore of vCenter appliance – Simplified backup and restore with a new native file-based solution. Restore the vCenter Server configuration to a fresh appliance and stream backups to external storage using HTTP, FTP, or SCP protocols.
    • New HTML5-based vSphere Client that is both responsive and easy to use (Based on our new Clarity UI)
  • Built-In Security – 
    • Encryption at rest and in motion – new VM-level encryption capability designed to protect against unauthorized data access. When used with vSphere vMotion, this capability safeguards both data at rest and data in motion
    • secure boot model to make sure images have not been tampered with and to prevent the loading of unauthorized vSphere component
    • secure access, vSphere 6.5 provides multi-factor authentication. You can now configure vCenter Server permissions to require 2-Factor authentication using both a password and a smartcard or RSA key. Plus, vSphere 6.5 offers enhanced audit-quality logging capabilities that provide more information about user actions. IT can now access auditable trails if an investigation into anomalies or security threats require it.
  • Universal App Platform – universal app platform that supports both traditional and next-generation apps (including 3D graphics, big data, machine learning environments, SAP Hana, and SaaS)… vSphere 6.5 expands its workload coverage model by focusing on both scale-up and scale-out next-gen apps that are increasingly built using evolving technology building blocks, such as containers.
    • VIC is extends vSphere capabilities to run container workloads and sits on top of vCenter, and integrates with the rest of the VMware stack like NSX and vSAN…
      • vSphere Integrated Containers where we are enabling the best of both worlds for contained based cloud native apps…
      • vSphere Integrated Containers is the easiest way for vSphere users to bring containers into an existing environment.
      • Integrated containers deliver an enterprise container infrastructure that provides the best of both worlds for the developer and vSphere operations team.
      • Containers are now just as easy to enable and manage as virtual machines.
      • For cloud native apps, there are two audiences we are trying to serve, one is the developers, they want to leverage native docker interface, using the tools that they are familiar with.
      • For IT, operations guys, they want to have control and visibility of these category of applications, they like to leverage tools and processes they have honed in over the years.
    • newly released VMware Cloud Foundation and VMware Cloud Foundation Service are built on vSphere 6.5.
  • IMPORTANT NOTE:  Please be sure to check the vSphere 6.5 compatibility blog (see KB 2147548) before upgrading to vSphere 6.5 if you are currently using other VMware solutions.

 

     vSphere 6.5 Announcement:  https://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2016/10/introducing-vsphere-6-5.html

     vSphere 6.5 Release Notes: http://pubs.vmware.com/Release_Notes/en/vsphere/65/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-65-release-notes.html

     Download:  https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/info/slug/datacenter_cloud_infrastructure/vmware_vsphere/6_5

vsan1

 

Virtual SAN (VSAN) 6.5:

  • Additional TCO Savings by…
    • Offering New Workload types such as Cloud-Native Apps and the ability for Physical workloads to point to the VSAN datastore via iSCSI
      • vSphere
        • Works off-the-shelf with Docker, Swarm, Kubernetes, …
        • Persistent Docker Volume Driver
      • vSphere Integrated Containers
        • Docker API Compatibility
        • Persistent Volume Driver
        • VM-like container isolation
      • Photon Platform
        • New VSAN for Photon Platform release available
      • Non-virtualized workloads can utilize VSAN for storage (using iSCSI initiators)
    • Support of All-Flash hardware in Virtual SAN (VSAN) STANDARD
    • While eliminating the cost of networking hardware for (2)-Node ROBO deployments.
      • Eliminate router/switch costs by connecting two nodes directly using crossover cables
      • Supports two cross over cables between the
        2-Nodes for higher availability of network
      • Separates VSAN data traffic from witness VM traffic
    • Then we can Accelerate Responsiveness of the business by…
      • Providing a Full-Featured PowerCLI tool to fully automate operational tasks.
      • And then separating witness and Virtual SAN (VSAN) traffic for Stretched Clusters.
    • We have accelerated the adoption of HCI with the support of Next-Gen Hardware
      • By increasing the Cache Sizing
      • As well as now support large capacity drives through the 512e drives.

 

     Virtual SAN (vSAN) Announcement:  https://blogs.vmware.com/virtualblocks/2016/10/18/vmware-virtual-san-6-5-whats-new/

     vSAN 6.5 Release Notes:  http://pubs.vmware.com/Release_Notes/en/vsan/65/vmware-virtual-san-65-release-notes.html

     Download:  https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/info/slug/datacenter_cloud_infrastructure/vmware_vsan/6_5