VMware - 5

VMware has announced VXLAN, the Virtual Distributed Layer-2 Network IETF draft standard, of which Arista is a co-author. VXLAN is a special encapsulation mechanism that runs between virtual switches and enables virtual machines to be deployed and moved on or between any server within the network. The main benefits to the IT department in planning to support VXLAN is the ability to deploy a virtual machine on any server within the network, regardless of its IP subnet. This enables the IT department to create a scalable network architecture that supports capacity on demand and workload mobility regardless of geography and IP addressing. VXLAN requires no changes to the underlying IP addressing architecture and should require no major changes to installed infrastructure in the data center.

What is VXLAN?

Virtual eXtensible LAN is a new network encapsulation and segmentation mechanism that enables a VM to be deployed on any server, regardless of the IP subnet the physical ESX host is in. It accomplishes this by encapsulating the MAC and IP packets from the virtual NIC with a UDP header and then using IP multicast to emulate a broadcast domain. To get traffic in and out of this encapsulated 'virtual wire' the non-encapsulated traffic must go through a vShield Edge virtual machine acting as a VXLAN gateway. Performing these elegant L3-transparent migrations with L2-only storage transport technologies like FCoE is impossible.

http://www.aristanetworks.com/media/system/pdf/TechBulletins/VXLAN_Overview.pdf

I invite you to take a look at the 'Fall 2011 Arista Webinar Series' that kicks off at the end of September.  Arista will be joined by top industry partners to reveal the best practices of data centers, one vertical at a time.  Arista Tech Education - For Engineers, By Engineers.

Site Recovery Manager 5.0 provides additional features—vSphere Replication, automatic reprotection and failback, new means of handling dependencies and priorities, and a simpler user interface that you can leverage to extend your disaster recovery plan to cover even more of your business-continuity needs.

This guide provides you with step-by-step instructions on how to set up automated disaster recovery workflows using Site Recovery Manager, as well as information on other cutting-edge DR features in Site Recovery Manager. With Site Recovery Manager, you can design and implement a comprehensive disaster recovery plan for your virtual environment. After going through the evaluation exercises in this guide, you should be able to make the right choice to implement your disaster-recovery solutions in your virtual datacenter.

VMware-vCenter-Site-Recovery-Manager-Evaluation-Guide.pdf

The purpose of this guide is to support a self-guided, hands-on evaluation of SRM by IT professionals who are looking to automate their disaster recovery plans with SRM in their vSphere environment. The VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager 5.0 Evaluation Guide is intended to provide SRM customers and evaluators a guide that walks them through the SRM workflow that must be completed to allow for the successful and automated service failover from the designated SRM protected site to the designated SRM recovery site.

VMware Workstation 8 provides a seamless way to access all of the virtual machines you need, regardless of where they are running.   Connect to Server enables remote connections to virtual machines running on VMware Workstation, VMware vSphere, and VMware vCenter.  Now you can work with local and server hosted virtual machines side by side within the same interface.  You are no longer constrained by the power of your PC to run multiple virtual machines at the same time.In this video you will see how easy you can add another instance of Workstation 8 but also the vCenter server to your inventory.


After you connect to a remote server, the remote host and remote virtual machines appear in the library. If the remote server is running vCenter Server, datacenters and folders appear in the library. To interact with a remote host, you select it in the library. The tasks that you can perform on a remote host appear on the tab for the remote host. For example, you might be able to restart, shut down, or suspend the remote host and create virtual machines.

To interact with a remote virtual machine, you select it in the library. You interact with remote virtual machines in the same way that you interact with local virtual machines, but some features and devices are not supported. Features that you cannot use with remote virtual machines include Unity mode, shared folders, AutoProtect snapshots, drag-and-drop, and copy and paste. Your permissions determine the actions that you can perform on remote hosts and remote virtual machines. When a feature is not supported, or when you do not have permission to use it, the associated menu item is unavailable.

VMware has announced the availability of VMware Workstation 8 -- offering the easiest way to build, share and upload virtual machines (VMs) to VMware vSphere. With more than 50 new features, VMware Workstation 8 advances the way technical professionals can work with multiple virtual machines from their PCs or on enterprise private clouds.

"The users of VMware Workstation pioneer the adoption of virtual environments and private clouds," said Christopher Young, vice president and general manager, End-User Computing, VMware. "Our team recognizes the needs of these users and has made significant enhancements to VMware Workstation 8, making it even easier for them to move beyond the virtual box."

Key VMware Workstation 8 features include:

• Remote Connections - VMware Workstation 8 provides a seamless way to establish remote connections to hosts running in Workstation, VMware vSphere, and VMware vCenter™.
• "Share" VMs - New in Workstation 8, users can share VMs so they can be accessed by teammates providing a quick way to test applications in a more production-like environment. 
• Upload to vSphere - Workstation 8 enables users to drag and drop a VM from a user's desktop to VMware vSphere. This feature allows users to deploy a complete application environment from a PC to a server for further testing, demoing, and analysis. 
• New User Interface - The VMware Workstation 8 user interface has been revamped with simplified menus, live thumbnails, improved preferences screens, and a new virtual machine library with enhanced searching. Users can now search and access a large library of virtual machines that can reside on your desktop, a server, or on another PC running VMware Workstation. 
• Improved Virtual Machine Capabilities - With support for HD audio with 7.1 surround sound, USB 3 and Bluetooth devices, Workstation 8 delivers new levels of virtual machine performance. In addition, improvements to virtual SMP, 3D graphics performance and new support for 64-GB RAM allows users to run the most demanding applications in a virtual machine. 

Download a free trial here.

VMware has filed an intresting IETF internet draft.This document describes Virtual eXtensible Local Area Network (VXLAN), which is used to address the need for overlay networks within virtualized data centers accommodating multiple tenants. The scheme and the related protocols can be used in cloud service provider and enterprise data center networks.

VXLAN: A Framework for Overlaying Virtualized Layer 2 Networks over Layer 3 Networks.

http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-mahalingam-dutt-dcops-vxlan-00

 

Raising the Bar, Part V

Date: Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Time: 9:00 AM (PT) | 12:00 PM (ET) | 18:00 Amsterdam 

Please join VMware executives Paul Maritz, CEO and Steve Herrod, CTO for the unveiling of the next major step forward in Cloud infrastructure. Paul & Steve’s 45 minute live webcast will be followed by additional online sessions where you can learn more about the industry’s most trusted virtualization and cloud infrastructure products and services. Join VMware and experience how the virtualization journey is helping transform IT and ushering in the era of Cloud Computing.

To register, please go to: http://bit.ly/ihnk4P

VMware Compatibility Guide 2.0 Preview is now available, including the enhanced user interface and navigation with additional features and enhancements.

Rick Blythe over at VMwarewolf reports:

VMware has rolled out a new and improved compatibility web page. It is hoped this makes it easy to find compatible systems, I/O devices, storage and guest operating systems.   The 2.0 guide offers an enhanced look & feel, improved performance and new program information. The final preview is available now at this link.

http://partnerweb.vmware.com/comp_guide2/search.php