VMworld 2014 Recap

VMworld 2014 can almost be summed up in one word: realization.

Among the event’s major talking points was the rebranding of VMware’s Management Suite, vRealize. Essentially, many of the announcements and updates to the product sets and capabilities were just that: a realization (or a promise of realization) of the initial value propositions of the major VMware titles and much more true integrations of the titles within each suite.

There was, however, one notable exception to this trend and that was the announcement of EVO Rail and EVO Rack, a Hyper-Converged infrastructure.

Here’s an in-depth look at some of the biggest stories to come out of VMworld 2014, concerning a wide range of products and platforms:

Software-Defined Data Center (SDDC)

Computing

  • VMware vCloud Suite 5.8 – Thanks to its policy-based provisioning capabilities, this update enables the addition of compute, network, security, storage and disaster recovery services to applications and infrastructure.
  • VMware vSphere 6.0 (Beta) – Fault Tolerance has been updated so it can support up to four CPUs. VMware’s vSphere also now offers support for cross-vCenter vSphere vMotion and long-distance vMotion.
  • New vSphere Remote Office Branch Office (ROBO) Standard and Advanced Editions – ROBO is designed to replace vSphere Essentials and Essentials Plus Kits for Retail and Branch Offices. It offers flexible licensing and features such as host profiles and can enable consistent host configurations across several locations.

Storage

  • VMware Virtual SAN Ready Nodes – VMware’s system vendor partners have 40 pre-validated configurations of servers ready to run Virtual SAN available for purchase.
  • Virtual Volumes (VVOLS) enables app-centric, policy-based automation of SAN- and NAS-based services, while also transforming SAN/NAS into VM-based devices by making a virtual disk a native representation of the VM at the array level.
  • vCenter Site Recovery Manager 5.8  offers self-service DR through VMware vRealize Automation integration. This latest version has 5x the protection capabilities per VMware vCenter and supports twice the concurrent recovery for VMs. It also provides UI convergence to the vSphere Web Client.

Network

  • NSX 6.1 –  provides a cost-effective and practical method for developing network micro-segmentation to transform data center security architectures.

Management

  • VMware vRealize Suite – This cloud management platform was built for the dedicated purpose of working in hybrid cloud and heterogeneous environments. The packages includes vCloud Automation Center, IT Business Management Suite, vCenter Operations Management Suite and vCenter Log Insight.
  • VMware vRealize Operations Insight – This solution promises intelligent operations for everything from applications to storage, for vSphere and physical hardware, and for businesses of all shapes and sizes. VMware vRealize Operations Insight includes vCenter Operations Management suite and vCenter Log Insight.
  • VMware vRealize Air Automation (Beta) – VMware’s first Software as a Service management product offering supports automated delivery of personalized infrastructure as a service across both public and private clouds with policy-based control.

Open Standards

  • VMware Integrated OpenStack (Beta) – This VMware-supported OpenStack distribution gives IT the option to quickly and cost-effectively deliver developer-friendly OpenStack APIs and tools on top of their existing VMware infrastructure. 
  • Containers without Compromise – VMware took the opportunity during the event to throw its support behind the “Container Ecosystem,” which includes Docker’s automation solution and Google’s management solution.

VMware EVO

  • VMware EVO: Rail is a hyper-converged infrastructure appliance which streamlines the deployment and scale-out of Software-Defined IT infrastructure. It can be rolled out in roughly 15 minutes according to VMWare’s internal testing, provides design and price predictability, and was designed to support approximately 100 VMs.
  • VMware EVO: Rack (Tech Preview) –VMware’s goal with EVO: RACK is to assist companies with dramatically simplifying how they build and operate Software-Defined Data Centers and to help them rapidly provision applications and services at data center scale.

Hybrid cloud

  • VMware vCloud Air provides the platform for VMware’s group of as-a-service products built on its public cloud infrastructure.
  • vCloud Air Virtual Private Cloud OnDemand (Beta) – With this feature, all it takes is the swipe of a credit card and users have instant, on-demand access to vCloud Air.  
  • vCloud Air Object Storage (Beta) – This solution provides scalable, cost effective, and durable storage for unstructured data. Customers can easily scale to petabytes and only pay for the storage space they use.
  • vCloud Air Mobile Services offers new platform capabilities and ISV offerings to support mobile-cloud applications. 
  • VMware vCloud Air DBaaS (Beta) – Users are given the option to easily create, deploy, manage, and access enterprise-class databases.

End-user Computing/Mobility

  • VMware WorkspaceSuite powers virtual workspaces through the integration of the application, device, and data management functionality of AirWatch Mobility Management, VMware Horizon 6 virtual app and desktop management, and AirWatch Secure Content Locker.
  • Published Application Support in VMware Horizon DaaS is unique in that it’s the only solution in the industry to offer comprehensive management of published applications, shared desktop sessions, and full virtual desktops and applications using Data as a Service.
  • Real-Time Application Delivery – VMware’s recent acquisition CloudVolumes promises dynamic delivery of applications, user settings and data that can accelerate the formation of stateless desktops and lower costs. Combined with VMware Horizon, CloudVolumes can redefine virtual desktops, address the application delivery and performance challenge, and give end-users a personal, mobile-like experience.
  • High Performance, Graphic-Rich Applications on Chromebooks were featured in a tech preview. This technology was born as a result of VMware’s partnership with Google and NVIDIA. The mission? Create high-performance, workstation-class applications and desktops accessible from Chromebooks.

Are you asking yourself “What does all this mean for me?” Please contact the team here at Arraya Solutions and we’ll be happy to provide further explanation and/or assist you with a true solution architecture that includes these products and our best practices.

Arraya Insights