VM /ETC

I actually have power and internet for this session thanks to the guy at the tech table In the back of the room. I will attempt to live blog this session.

The session starts off again with the disclaimer about forward looking statements again, and the presenter mentions he can talk about the features but not discuss specific version numbers. This session is about vCenter. This new suite of applications is the platform to manage and maintain the new VDC-OS. The presentation goes right into the new features.

Linked Mode

The vCenter Architecture goes beyond the current VI Client connecting to single VC Servers today. Now for customers with multiple VC servers the new vCenter has Linked Mode. A standardized VI Client can access inventory across multiple vCenters and query the combined group. We switch to a demo of the new VI Client that resembles a browser. There is a search box in the top right corner which displays the results of the keyword query. There is also an advanced search where you can search against multiple criteria. You can then select the results, including multiple objects in the results, and perform an action against those VMs. The presenter selects to upgrade VMware Tools for the query results.

There is a question from the audience about licensing. The presenter explains that the licenses are now in a global pool for all vCenter servers.

Replication

The presenter starts off by configuring a specific role for a specific user group in one VC. Replication makes sure that this change on one of the VC servers is propagated to all VC Servers in the organization. After various questions from the audience about the control of the replicated configuration changes it is determined that there is not granular control of the replication. If you make a change on one VC then all the VCs get the change. You can not block certain VCs from the changes. It is all or nothing.

vCenter Orchestrator

This is a workflow engine for vCenter. You can create different workflows in vCenter for your organization.

vCenter Administrator Portal

Web based console allows a single view into the VI environment. It is a virtual appliance that works with a mix of VC 2.0 and VC 2.5 servers. The portal utilizes permissions set up in your VC servers and can even launch the ESX Console and the VI Client. This is another search based management tool that can query against multiple criteria. It is geared towards usage by the Operations Center. This portal can be used with existing VC 2.5 servers that are not in Linked Mode. Apparently this portal appliance will be available in the next 30 days and is not considered an upgrade.

Host Profiles

Configure a single ESX host how you want it to be. Then you use a vCenter server to create a profile for that configuration that can be deployed to multiple ESX hosts as they are added to a cluster. The process of deploying the profile is via the point and click interface of the VI Client. This is not just for new ESX server deployment. You can check compliance of different hosts against the profile and then initiate the process of bringing out of compliance hosts to full compliance. Profiles include vSwitches and portgroups, firewall configurations, Vmotion configurations, Service Console changes, etc. You can import and export profiles as needed. You can schedule a task to check compliance, and if a host fails it will trigger an event such as alert notifications.

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