VMware vSphere™ 5.0 (“vSphere”) introduces many improvements and new features to extend the benefits and capabilities of vSphere 4.1. These advancements build on the core capacities in vSphere to provide improved scalability; better performance; and easier provisioning, monitoring and troubleshooting. Lets focuses on the following new features and enhancements:
• Virtual machine enhancements
• Improved SSD handling and optimization
• Command-line enhancements
• VMware® ESXi™ firewall
• vSphere Image Builder
• vSphere Auto Deploy server
• vSphere Host Profiles
• VMware vCenter™ Update Manager
Virtual Machine Enhancements
vSphere 5.0 provides a significant leap forward in the areas of virtual machine scalability and performance. It offers support for significantly larger virtual machines along with added device support and enhanced backward compatibility for virtual machines running older versions of VMware Tools and virtual hardware.
Virtual Machine Scalability and Added Device Support
In vSphere 5.0 it is now possible to run practically any workload inside a virtual machine. In addition to its providing support for larger virtual machines, each virtual machine now supports additional capabilities and devices not previously available, including the following:
• Up to 32 virtual CPUs (vCPUs) and up to 1TB of RAM
• Enhanced graphics capabilities, including 3D graphics support that enables a richer desktop
experience
• Broader device coverage, including support for 3.0 USB devices, smart card readers and EFI
BIOS
• New user interface support for configuring multicore vCPUs
• Support for new guest operating systems including Mac OS X Server v10.6 (“Snow Leopard”)
Compatibility with Older Versions of VMware Tools and Virtual Hardware
• Enhanced graphics capabilities, including 3D graphics support that enables a richer desktop
experience
• Broader device coverage, including support for 3.0 USB devices, smart card readers and EFI
BIOS
• New user interface support for configuring multicore vCPUs
• Support for new guest operating systems including Mac OS X Server v10.6 (“Snow Leopard”)
Compatibility with Older Versions of VMware Tools and Virtual Hardware
Along with the improvements in scalability and added device support, vSphere 5.0 continues to support hosting virtual machines running prior versions of VMware Tools and older virtual hardware versions. With this support it is not necessary to upgrade all your virtual machines in conjunction with your vSphere 5.0 upgrade. You can continue to run virtual machines with the 4.x version of VMware Tools, and virtual hardware versions 4 and 7, in a fully supported configuration. You are required to upgrade the VMware Tools and virtual hardware version only when necessary to take advantage of the new features and capabilities added in vSphere 5.0.
Improved SSD Handling and Optimization
vSphere 5.0 provides new forms of SSD handling and optimization. The VMkernel automatically recognizes and tags SSD devices that are local to an ESXi host or are on the network. In addition, the VMkernel scheduler is modified to allow ESXi swap to extend to local or network SSD devices, which enables memory over commitment and minimizes performance impact.
New Command-Line Interface
vSphere 5.0 introduces a new command-line interface (CLI). A challenge long faced by vSphere administrators has been the need to work with many different command-line tools, each with a unique syntax. In addition, different commands were needed to manage a host locally versus remotely. vSphere 5.0 marks the beginning of efforts by VMware to standardize on a single CLI for both local and remote administration, as well as to help reduce the overall number of CLI tools.
New “esxcli” Command
The new “esxcli” command provides an intuitive, user-friendly interface that enables real-time discovery of command syntax. While similar in look and feel to its vSphere 4.x predecessor, the new “esxcli” command has an improved syntax and has been extended to include additional functionality not previously available, such as the ability to configure network policies and security policies, manage VIBs, and configure and manage the VMware ESXi firewall.
The “esxcli” command is available on each VMware ESXi host via the VMware ESXi shell. It is also available as part of the optional vCLI package that can be installed on any supported Windows or Linux server, or through the vSphere Management Assistant (vMA).
ESXi Firewall
vSphere 5.0 now provides a new firewall that protects the management interface of a host running ESXi. This firewall provides similar access control capabilities for the VMware ESXi platform to those available on the VMware ESX platform. However, the technology used to build this firewall is different from the iptables running on a console operating system (OS) in the VMware ESX environment.
Image Builder
vSphere 5.0 introduces the VMware ESXi Image Builder. The Image Builder is a PowerShell CLI command set that enables customers to customize their VMware ESXi images. With Image Builder, you can create VMware ESXi installation images with a customized set of updates, patches and drivers.
VIB Packaging Format
The “esxcli” command is available on each VMware ESXi host via the VMware ESXi shell. It is also available as part of the optional vCLI package that can be installed on any supported Windows or Linux server, or through the vSphere Management Assistant (vMA).
ESXi Firewall
vSphere 5.0 now provides a new firewall that protects the management interface of a host running ESXi. This firewall provides similar access control capabilities for the VMware ESXi platform to those available on the VMware ESX platform. However, the technology used to build this firewall is different from the iptables running on a console operating system (OS) in the VMware ESX environment.
In VMware ESXi, the access control capability is provided through a vmknic (VMkernel network adaptor)-level firewall module. This module sits between a vmknic and a virtual switch. It inspects packets against firewall rules. Based on the results, it determines whether to drop or pass packets. The following are key features of the new firewall:
• It is a service-oriented and stateless firewall.
• It supports additional capability to restrict access to services based on IP address and subnet
mask.
• The configuration GUI is similar to the VMware ESX firewall.
• The firewall can be configured using the new “esxcli” command-line interface.
• Host Profiles support is provided for this firewall.
The VMware ESXi firewall provides security to the management interface and helps manage firewall rules through a familiar, service-oriented GUI. This familiar GUI and the capability to preserve firewall settings help administrators tremendously during the transition from the VMware ESX to the VMware ESXi platform.
• It is a service-oriented and stateless firewall.
• It supports additional capability to restrict access to services based on IP address and subnet
mask.
• The configuration GUI is similar to the VMware ESX firewall.
• The firewall can be configured using the new “esxcli” command-line interface.
• Host Profiles support is provided for this firewall.
The VMware ESXi firewall provides security to the management interface and helps manage firewall rules through a familiar, service-oriented GUI. This familiar GUI and the capability to preserve firewall settings help administrators tremendously during the transition from the VMware ESX to the VMware ESXi platform.
Image Builder
vSphere 5.0 introduces the VMware ESXi Image Builder. The Image Builder is a PowerShell CLI command set that enables customers to customize their VMware ESXi images. With Image Builder, you can create VMware ESXi installation images with a customized set of updates, patches and drivers.
VIB Packaging Format
The VMware ESXi installation image comprises a series of separately packaged software components referred to as VMware Installation Bundles (VIBs). When a VMware ESXi host is installed, the installer formats the boot device and extracts the VIBs off the installation media onto the boot device (or directly into memory with Auto Deploy). Once the VIBs have been extracted, the host boots and the hypervisor is loaded. A challenge with prior releases of VMware ESXi arose anytime an administrator needed to add or modify one of the VIB components—to add new device drivers for a new network adaptor, for example. vSphere 5.0 addresses this gap by providing users with the Image Builder to customize their VMware ESXi installation images.
Image Builder Depots and Image Profiles
Image Builder Depots and Image Profiles
Using the Image Builder, customers place the VMware ESXi VIBs into software depots. The administrator then uses the Image Builder PowerCLI to combine the VIBs from the separate depots with the default VMware ESXi installation image, to create a custom image profile that can then be used to install their VMware ESXi hosts. Multiple depots and image profiles can be maintained. For example, a separate image profile can be created for installing VMware ESXi on rackmounted servers while another image profile is used for installing VMware ESXi on blade servers.
Auto Deploy Server
The vSphere Auto Deploy server simplifies the deployment of VMware ESXi hosts in your environment. Using the Auto Deploy server, you can provision hundreds of physical hosts with VMware ESXi software. You can specify the image to deploy and the host to provision with the image. Optionally, you can specify Host Profiles to apply to the host, and a location for each host.
How Auto Deploy Works
When a physical host setup for Auto Deploy is turned on, Auto Deploy uses a PXE boot infrastructure in conjunction with vSphere Host Profiles to provision and customize that host. No state is stored on the host itself. Instead, the Auto Deploy server manages state information for each host. When a physical host is booted, it PXE boots over the network where a DHCP server assigns an IP address and redirects the host to a TFTP server, which directs the host to perform an HTTP boot from the Auto Deploy server. The Auto Deploy server then streams the VMware ESXi software image into memory on the target host.
Once the entire image is resident in memory, VMware ESXi boots up and contacts the VMware vCenter Server, where Host Profiles can be used to automatically configure the host. Once the host has been configured, it is placed into the proper VMware vCenter cluster or folder and is available to host virtual machines.
Auto Deploy Rules Engine
The Auto Deploy server uses a rules engine to identify which image and which Host Profile to deliver to which host. Administrators use the Auto Deploy PowerCLI to define the rules that assign image profiles and Host Profiles to the hosts.
Conclusion
Auto Deploy Server
The vSphere Auto Deploy server simplifies the deployment of VMware ESXi hosts in your environment. Using the Auto Deploy server, you can provision hundreds of physical hosts with VMware ESXi software. You can specify the image to deploy and the host to provision with the image. Optionally, you can specify Host Profiles to apply to the host, and a location for each host.
How Auto Deploy Works
When a physical host setup for Auto Deploy is turned on, Auto Deploy uses a PXE boot infrastructure in conjunction with vSphere Host Profiles to provision and customize that host. No state is stored on the host itself. Instead, the Auto Deploy server manages state information for each host. When a physical host is booted, it PXE boots over the network where a DHCP server assigns an IP address and redirects the host to a TFTP server, which directs the host to perform an HTTP boot from the Auto Deploy server. The Auto Deploy server then streams the VMware ESXi software image into memory on the target host.
Once the entire image is resident in memory, VMware ESXi boots up and contacts the VMware vCenter Server, where Host Profiles can be used to automatically configure the host. Once the host has been configured, it is placed into the proper VMware vCenter cluster or folder and is available to host virtual machines.
Auto Deploy Rules Engine
The Auto Deploy server uses a rules engine to identify which image and which Host Profile to deliver to which host. Administrators use the Auto Deploy PowerCLI to define the rules that assign image profiles and Host Profiles to the hosts.
Conclusion
vSphere 5.0 continues to build on the rich set of capabilities provided in vSphere 4.1. vSphere 5.0 supports virtual machines with up to 32 vCPUs and 1TB of RAM, making it possible to virtualize even the biggest workloads. Along with the impressive virtual machine size, vSphere 5.0 further extends the features and capabilities of the virtual machine to include support for 3D graphics, USB 3.0 devices, and smart card readers. vSphere 5.0 provides a new and improved command-line interface that for the first time provides a consistent command structure for both local and remote management of VMware ESXi hosts. The new services-based firewall improves the security of the VMware ESXi host and offers an improved user experience. The new Image Builder puts an end to the challenge of customizing VMware ESXi installation images by providing a PowerCLI snap-in, enabling administrators to create and maintain customized installation images. The Auto Deploy server streamlines the deployment and configuration of large numbers of VMware ESXi hosts by leveraging the PXE-based network boot infrastructure to deploy VMware ESXi on the fly. To support Auto Deploy, vCenter Host Profiles have been updated to include additional configuration parameters such as iSCSI, FCoE, multipathing and kernel-level settings. In addition, Host Profiles now includes support for per-host answer files that can be used together with Auto Deploy to apply host-specific settings. Finally, the new vSphere 5.0 Update Manager also includes many improvements and enhancements to greatly improve your ability to upgrade, patch and maintain your hosts as well as upgrade the virtual machine hardware and the VMware Tools running inside your virtual machines.
