It’s a Multi-Cloud World We Live In!

I currently work for VMware in which anyone that works in the IT field is familiar with and has potentially worked with one or more of our solutions during their career. I am going on six years with the company and have worked as a field pre-sales engineer for the last two plus years. Just in these last two years of talking to my customers, I have seen the growth in companies moving some of their workloads to the cloud. Not only that, they aren’t using a single cloud provider, but multiple clouds.

The realistic aspect of moving applications to the cloud is that not all applications are equal. I have found that some applications can be moved to the cloud, but others are better off staying in your private cloud for cost and other reasons. Some customers have the hopes of “getting out of the datacenter business and going 100% to the cloud“. This is not a reality for 99% of companies. I have heard this several times, but in reality, it is typically too costly and in many cases not technically feasible do to the numerous legacy goliath applications that won’t run in the cloud.

More and more I see where most companies have a multi-cloud approach to moving their workloads. If they currently don’t have this strategy, they are definitely looking at it! This is the trend I see every day and all the news articles, blogs, and posts reflect this as well. This is a very smart business move for the fact that each cloud provider offers different features, capabilities and cost benefits. One workload may run better and cheaper in a specific cloud that it would in another. So the approach to putting certain workloads in certain clouds is actually a very smart and beneficial move. However, this can be a little cumbersome for your IT folks since each provider has their own administrative interfaces you have to learn to use. It can create increased cost for training and workload for the learning curve for your IT personnel.

Because of this multi-cloud trend, VMware is investing continuously by acquiring companies that further our multi-cloud solution strategy and portfolio. This is evident in our most recent intent to acquire AVI Networks who is a leader in multi-cloud application delivery services. This is an important step forward in VMware’s networking and cloud strategies as we extend the application services we offer that help customers operate in a multi-cloud world. Another recent acquisition in May of 2019 is Bitnami, which offers a suite of products and projects that accelerate the delivery of applications to multiple clouds including Kubernetes environments. Today, Bitnami delivers and maintains a catalog of 130+ ready-to-run server applications and development environments in partnership with the world’s leading cloud providers. There have been other acquisitions to expand and advance VMware’s multi-cloud strategy, these were just the ones from recent months. Others include the acquisitions of CloudHealth, Wavefront, VeloCloud, etc. Let’s not forget they also continue to partner with the major providers in endeavors such as our Enterprise PKS solution which is a partnership with Google Cloud to provide an enterprise class Kubernetes solution.

For a detailed list of VMware’s acquisitions, refer to here.

As you can see, multi-cloud is not just a passing phase of IT, it is real! So much so that VMware is acquiring multi-cloud focused companies to advance our multi-cloud strategy. We can see this is well with all of our continued partnerships with the major cloud providers such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, IBM Cloud, and Google Cloud Platform. We started out by announcing our partnership with AWS with our VMware Cloud on AWS (VMC on AWS) solution. This solution is wonderful because it gives you a true Hybrid Cloud environment. VMC on AWS is running our VMware stack of vSphere, (vSAN) Virtual SAN, and NSX on AWS hardware servers. The three solutions combined are also another offering called VMware Cloud Foundation. It is the three solutions, but also adds the SDDC Manager which manages the bring-up of the Cloud Foundation system, creates and manages workload domains, and performs lifecycle management to ensure the software components remain up-to-to date. SDDC Manager also monitors the logical and physical resources of Cloud Foundation.

This means you are running the same vSphere stack in AWS as you are in your on-premise private cloud. So your virtual administrators using the exact same management tools that they are currently using in their private cloud as they do to manage VMC onAWS resources. The vCenter server in the VMC on AWS instance shows up in your on-premise vCenter Server Web Client as just another vCenter server in enhanced linked mode. There is a huge advantage to this of no new tools, skills, or training that have to be used or learned for administrators saving the company time and money! And best of all, since it is all a vSphere infrastructure, this allows you to do live migrations of (VM) virtual machines to and from your private cloud to the VMC on AWS instance. Now that is impressive, think of the implications of being able to do that for (DR) Disaster Recovery, etc. Because of VMC on AWS running completely on the vSphere stack, it allows us to have a true Hybrid Cloud ability and experience.

VMware has also joined in partnership with the other major cloud providers such as Microsoft Azure, IBM Softlayer, Google Cloud, and have nearly 4,000 VSPP cloud providers. The (VSPP) VMware Solution Provider Program is comprised of VMware software-as-a-service offerings and our global ecosystem of VMware Service Provider Partners. It is the ideal solution for all companies that offer hosted services to third parties, including infrastructure as a service (IaaS) providers, cloud service providers (CSPs), application service providers (ASPs), Internet service providers (ISPs) and platform as a service (PaaS) providers.

So as you see, VMware has made huge bets by acquiring numerous cloud focused companies to advance our cloud strategy. In my humble opinion, the multi-cloud strategy is hear to stay and will only get more interesting as the years go by!

Dell-EMC-VMware Event: Star Wars: The Last Jedi – Let The Transformation Begin

Dell-EMC-VMware Event:

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

“Let The Transformation Begin”

 

 

Dell EMC and VMware invite you to Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Watch our heroes transform and learn about the future of digital transformation with the Dell EMC VxRail/VxRack SDDC appliances powered by VMware vSphere 6.5, vSAN 6.6 and VMware Cloud Foundation. Transform your data center with a fully integrated, pre-configured, and pre-tested hyper-converged solution.

Whether your datacenter needs are large or small, Dell EMC VxRail and VxRack SDDC are the easiest and fastest hyper-converged options to stand up or extend a VMware environment while dramatically simplifying IT operations and lowering capital and operational costs.

Together, Dell EMC and VMware bring you highly configurable solutions to enable your digital transformation.

Be sure to register soon, limited availability in each city!


This exclusive early premiere will be in the following cities:

Denver, CO
Dublin/East Bay, CA
Orange County/San Diego, CA

Phoenix, AZ
Chicago, IL
Cincinnati, OH
Cleveland, OH
Indianapolis, IN
Pittsburgh, PA
Minneapolis, MN
Kansas City, MO
Louisville, KY
Charlotte, NC
Dallas, TX
Jacksonville, FL
Memphis, TN
Nashville, TN
Raleigh, NC
San Antonio, TX
Hartford, CT
Philadelphia/Oaks, PA
Long Island, NY
Rochester, NY
Silver Springs, MD
Jersey City, NJ

 

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!

vSphere 6.5 U1 Added Benefit – vCenter Foundation Supports (4) Hosts Now!

vSphere 6.5 U1 Added Benefit – vCenter

Foundation Supports (4) Hosts Now!

VMware vCenter Server Foundation provides powerful management tools for smaller environments looking to rapidly provision, monitors, and control virtual machines. Previously, vCenter Server Foundation only support managing up to (3) hosts much like the vSphere Essentials Kits. With the release of vSphere 6.5 U1, VMware has changed the licensing to now support up to (4) hosts!

Key Features:

  • Analyze and remediate issues quickly with visibility into vSphere virtual infrastructure.
  • Deliver the security and availability of vSphere through automated proactive management features such as automated load balancing and out-of-the-box automation workflows.

Key Capabilities:

  • Management service
  • Database server
  • Inventory service
  • VMware vSphere Clients
  • VMware vCenter APIs and .NET
  • vCenter Single Sign-On

 

Know What Features Limitations There Are With The “Free” Version Of ESXi/vSphere!

Know What Features Limitations There Are With The

“Free” Version Of ESXi/vSphere!

 

Have you ever wondered about the FREE version of vSphere and what limitations there are? I have created the below summary of limitations that are associated to the free version. For those using it for a home or test lab, the free version may do the trick for you. But even if using it for those situations, you still need to understand the limitations you have. One aspect to keep in mind especially is that the free version DOES NOT come with any type of technical support for it which is critical to understand!

Because of the below list of limitations and there not being any technical support for it, I highly recommend it not be used in corporate environments even in their Test/Dev labs! Instead, if you are trying to reduce the costs associated to vSphere licensing and have a limited budget, I would recommend that you look at the vSphere Essentials Kits which are very reasonably priced and offer two editions (Essentials & Essentials Plus). These offer you the ability to get support for them so if using in a production environment, you can be assured to get support from VMware to help keep your environment up and running at all times!

Essentials Kit – Edition Comparisons:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Essentials Kits:  

FREE vSphere – Limitations Summary:

  • No vMotion
  • No Fault Tolerance (FT)
  • No vSAN
  • Maximum of (2) physical CPU’s allowed per host
  • No built-in monitoring
  • NO Microsoft Active Directory (AD) integration
  • CANNOT be managed by a vCenter Server

Removed Limitations in vSphere 6.x:

  • Starting in vSphere 6.x, they removed the 32GB RAM limitation, it is now unlimited physical RAM

Additional Info:

 

A Cloud Alliance Between VMware and AWS Takes Shape

A Cloud Alliance Between VMware and AWS Takes Shape – via VMware vSphere Blog

A Cloud Alliance Between VMware and AWS Takes…

Last October, when VMware unveiled a strategic partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS), many in the tech industry were surprised. The two companies, once spirited competitors, announced they were collaborating on a new hybrid cloud solution called VMware Cloud on AWS.


VMware Social Media Advocacy

VMware Cloud Foundation – Technical Deep Dive

VMware Cloud Foundation – Technical Deep Dive

VMware Cloud Foundation – Technical Deep Dive


VMware Social Media Advocacy

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.


VMware Social Media Advocacy

Building a Nested ESXi Lab For Your Company

Building a Nested ESXi Lab For Your Company – via virtual insanity

Building a Nested ESXi Lab For Your Company

Let’s face it, most companies don’t have Labs for you to learn new software and operating systems, let alone test upgrades and changes to your existing environments.


VMware Social Media Advocacy

How to create a nested ESXi 6.5 Template

How to create a nested ESXi 6.5 Template – via ESX Virtualization

How to create a nested ESXi 6.5 Template

The way of installing or creating ESXi hosts as VMs (mean nested virtualization) has changed many times in the past. But as VMware introduces new features and improvements in every release of vSphere, the time has come again to check what’s the best practices and How to create a nested ESXi 6.5 template.


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Functional USB-C / Thunderbolt 3 Ethernet Adapter for ESXi 5.5, 6.0 & 6.5 – via virtuallyGhetto

Functional USB-C / Thunderbolt 3 Ethernet Adapter for ESXi 5.5, 6.0 & 6.5 – via virtuallyGhetto

Functional USB-C / Thunderbolt 3 Ethernet…

While attending an offsite this week, there were some discussions amongst my colleagues about their new Apple Mac Pro and its USB-C only ports. The discussion was completely unrelated to work, however that did get me thinking about the USB-C peripheral market and specifically their ethernet adapters.


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What is NFS(Network File System)

What is NFS(Network File System) – via VMware Insight

What is NFS(Network File System)

Network File Systems, generally known as NFS is file-level storage which is allocated by shared storage. It is Network attached storage that can be shared across a cluster in vSphere. It allow an user on a client computer to access filers over network similar as local storage.


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How-to Create a Security Banner for ESXi

How-to Create a Security Banner for ESXi – via ESX Virtualization

How-to Create a Security Banner for ESXi

This tip will allow you to add a security banner to the ESXi direct console. It can be a security message or informative message. Sometimes within an organization, there is a need to have such a message displayed prior to login. This post How-to Create a Security Banner for ESXi, was brought to you by ESX Virtualization.


VMware Social Media Advocacy

How to Netboot install ESXi onto Apple Mac Hardware? – via virtuallyGhetto

How to Netboot install ESXi onto Apple Mac Hardware? – via virtuallyGhetto

How to Netboot install ESXi onto Apple Mac…

The ability to perform an ESXi Scripted Installation over the network has been a basic capability for non-Apple hardware customers since the initial release of classic ESX. However, for customers who run ESXi on Apple Mac Hardware (first introduced in vSphere 5.0), being able to remotely boot and install ESXi over the network has not been possible and customers could only dream of this capability which many of us have probably taken for granted.


VMware Social Media Advocacy

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).


VMware Social Media Advocacy

VMware Cloud Foundation – Expand Workload Domain

VMware Cloud Foundation – Expand Workload Domain

VMware Cloud Foundation – Expand Workload Domain

In this video, we’ve completed the imaging and initial bring up process for the VMware Cloud Foundation instance. It includes two qualified top-of-rack switches, a management switch and 12 vSAN Ready Nodes. A four-node Management Domain is in place along with a four-node VI Workload Domain. Now, we’ll add capacity to the workload domain from available vSAN Ready Nodes in the VMware Cloud Foundation instance. There is a ton of automated goodness happening under the hood during the workload domain creation phase. Watch closely and you’ll catch the tasks being orchestrated across the integrated platform.


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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.


VMware Social Media Advocacy

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 Web Client after the Client Integration Plug-In Removal

vSphere Web Client after the Client Integration Plug-In Removal

vSphere Web Client after the Client Integration…

vSphere 6.5 release no longer requires that you install the Client Integration Plug-In. In certain cases, workflows have changed slightly, this video covers those changes.


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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 .


VMware Social Media Advocacy

Using vSphere Storage Policy-Based Management…

Using vSphere Storage Policy-Based Management in Mixed Storage Environments – Punching Clouds

Using vSphere Storage Policy-Based Management…

Categories: Virtual SAN , Virtual Volumes Tags: SPBM , vRA , VSAN , VVols A couple of weeks ago I delivered a brief webcast presentation on Storage Policy-Based Management and its use across mixed vSphere storage environments.


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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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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.


VMware Social Media Advocacy

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.


VMware Social Media Advocacy

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

 

What’s New: vSphere 6.5

What’s New: vSphere 6.5 – vWannabe

What’s New: vSphere 6.5

We have an announcement from VMware about vSphere 6.5. I will check this on VMware’s hand on labs (labs.hol.vmware.com) and try to synthesize it here. These labs a are sleek way to experience VMware products without the hassle of setting up everything in your personal lab.


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vSphere 6.5 Technical Overview Q4 2016

[Video] vSphere 6.5 Technical Overview Q4 2016

vSphere 6.5 Technical Overview Q4 2016

Learn about several of the prominent technology innovations and improvements that will further propel vSphere’s lead in manageability, security, and application delivery. vSphere 6.5 was announced at VMworld Europe 2016.


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Register for the Upcoming Webcast: vSphere 6.5 Training – What’s New!

Register for the Upcoming Webcast: vSphere 6.5 Training – What’s New!

This vSphere 6.5 Training: What’s New webcast provides a high-level look at the new features in vSphere 6.5 and the latest vSphere 6.5 instructor-led classes from VMware Education Services, with a focus on the new vSphere: What’s New [V5.5 to V6.5] course.Learn more.

Registration Link:  https://event.on24.com/eventRegistration/EventLobbyServlet?target=reg20.jsp&partnerref=eduwebsite&eventid=1298523&sessionid=1&key=CAF1B51DB6387F614506AE56DCA8BD7C&regTag=60316&sourcepage=register

2016-11-10_10-10-53

Register for the Upcoming Webcast: vSphere 6.5 Training – What's New!

Register for the Upcoming Webcast: vSphere 6.5 Training – What’s New!

This vSphere 6.5 Training: What’s New webcast provides a high-level look at the new features in vSphere 6.5 and the latest vSphere 6.5 instructor-led classes from VMware Education Services, with a focus on the new vSphere: What’s New [V5.5 to V6.5] course.Learn more.

Registration Link:  https://event.on24.com/eventRegistration/EventLobbyServlet?target=reg20.jsp&partnerref=eduwebsite&eventid=1298523&sessionid=1&key=CAF1B51DB6387F614506AE56DCA8BD7C&regTag=60316&sourcepage=register

2016-11-10_10-10-53

VMware vSphere 6.5 – Native vCenter High Availability (VCSA 6.5 only) – ESX Virtualization

VMware vSphere 6.5 – Native vCenter High Availability (VCSA 6.5 only) – ESX Virtualization

VMware vSphere 6.5 – Native vCenter High…

VMware vSphere 6.5 – Native vCenter High Availability. New simplified native HA is possible allows protect vCenter (VCSA) 6.5 for failures


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vSphere 6.5 – Restore VCSA 6.5 from Backup

vSphere 6.5 – Restore VCSA 6.5 from Backup -via Enterprise Daddy

vSphere 6.5 – Restore VCSA 6.5 from Backup

In this post, we will look at how to restore VCSA 6.5 from backup. In the previous post, we saw how to natively to perform VCSA 6.5 backup which is one of the new features in vSphere 6.5.


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Learning vSphere 6.5-Part-5-Installing vCenter Server on Windows – Virtual Reality

Learning vSphere 6.5-Part-5-Installing vCenter Server on Windows – Virtual Reality

Learning vSphere 6.5-Part-5-Installing vCenter…

Till now in this series we have discussed a lot of theory about vCenter Server/VCSA, deployment type etc and also we looked into system requirements for vCenter Server and PSC installation. Now its lab time where we will see the installation/configuration of the components.


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Learning vSphere 6.5-Part-3-vCenter Server and…

Learning vSphere 6.5-Part-3-vCenter Server and PSC Deployment Types – Virtual Reality

Learning vSphere 6.5-Part-3-vCenter Server and…

In last post of this series we had an overview of VCSA and touched a little bit on what are the new features that are included in VCSA v6.5.


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The difference between VM Encryption in vSphere…

The difference between VM Encryption in vSphere 6.5 and vSAN encryption – Yellow Bricks

The difference between VM Encryption in vSphere…

More and more people are starting to ask me what the difference is between VMCrypt aka VM Encryption and the beta feature we announced not to long ago called vSAN Encryption.


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New vSphere 6.5 APIs worth checking out (Virtually Ghetto)

New vSphere 6.5 APIs worth checking out – virtuallyGhetto

New vSphere 6.5 APIs worth checking out

With the upcoming new release of vSphere, there are quite a few new vSphere APIs to look forward to and consume from an Automation standpoint.


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What’s new in vSphere 6.5 Core Storage

What’s new in vSphere 6.5 Core Storage -CormacHogan.com

What’s new in vSphere 6.5 Core Storage

Hello from VMworld EMEA in Barcelona. Well, we can finally talk about vSphere 6.5 today. In this post, I want to highlight a number of new and enhanced features that you will find in vSphere 6.5 related to core storage. Continue reading → The post What’s new in vSphere 6.5 Core Storage appeared first on CormacHogan.com .


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vSphere 6.5 – How VM’s are Secured using…

vSphere 6.5 – How VM’s are Secured using vSphere 6.5 Security Features? -via http://www.vmwarearena.com

vSphere 6.5 – How VM’s are Secured using…

vSphere 6.5 released with lot of new features that most of them were waiting for. vSphere 6.5, the latest version of its industry-leading virtualization platform. This new release of vSphere features a dramatically simplified experience, comprehensive built-in security, and a universal app platform for running any app. I agree with the feature sets, availability and […] The post vSphere 6.5 – How VM’s are Secured using vSphere 6.5 Security Features? appeared first on VMware Arena.


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vSphere 6.5 – How to deploy VCSA 6.5

vSphere 6.5 – How to deploy VCSA 6.5 -via Enterprise Daddy

vSphere 6.5 – How to deploy VCSA 6.5

If you remember in the first post of vSphere 6.5, I talked about the improvements in the VCSA 6.5 installer. Well, we are going to now take a look at the VCSA 6.5 installer and use to deploy our VCSA 6.5 appliance.


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vSphere 6.5 New Hotness Series – Wahl Network

vSphere 6.5 New Hotness Series Archives – Wahl Network

vSphere 6.5 New Hotness Series – Wahl Network

Skip to contentHome LabvSphere Lab TipsSynology NASLab HardwareLab DesignsLab StoreDeep DivesThe Power of PowerShellAutomation for Operations SeriesvSphere 6.0 ZOMG SeriesWorking With NSX SeriesSoftware-Defined Data Center SeriesNFS on vSphere SeriesvSphere 5.5 Improvement SeriesTrainingUpgrading Your vSphere EnvironmentCCNA Data Center – Intro to Data Center NetworkingCCNA Data Center – Nexus, Advanced Switching, & SANCCNA Data Center – UCS, Services, and Unified FabricvCloud Director – Install and ConfigurevCloud Director – Manage and MonitorMy Pluralsight ProfilePublicationsNetworking for VMware AdminsSlideShare PresentationsStudy SheetsFeedly OPML FileGitHub ProjectsEvents2016201520142013Lanyrd ProfileConferize…Read More


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