VMware EMPOWER is coming
There are 3 events (listed at the bottom of this post) scheduled for this year.
I am lucky enough to have been named a VMware EMPOWER Ambassador.
There will only be 10 x Ambassadors for each EMPOWER event.
What does this meant???
Anyone (who is a partner) can reach out to me, and chat about this event.
Unsure of whether or not to attend? Not sure if there is value? What would be the best use of my time?
Reach out to me on Twitter @MarkGabbs and we can chat.
Plus, Ambassadors can help you get $100 off registration!
vExpert 2019
vExpert 2019 was announced just recently.
I have been a vExpert for five years.
What is vExpert? It doesn’t require a blog, but it is about someone willing to contribute the community, and share their experience with others.
Take a look at the vExpert page, see what the program is about, search the directory, or find a great catalog of bloggers
RVTool 3.11.6 released
The latest update has been posted.
Remember to Donate.
Rob de Veij spends quite a bit of time on this, and I’m sure more than once, any vSphere Admin / Architect has found this tool useful.
VMware NSX 6.4.4 Upgrade Bug
Found this post by Mike Da Costa on vswitchzero.com.
He calls out VMware KB 67416, which is about Edges not upgrading, or after upgrading, not being able to configure the edge if Security Groups or IP Sets are used in firewall rules.
The KB states there is no resolution, or not to use Security Groups for firewall rules on Edges (really? that’s a resolution?).
Good thing in Mike’s post, he states, “Support can proactively install a “hot patch” so that you won’t hit this problem.“
VMware vSphere HTML 5 Developer Center
A new addition that you’ll see in an update soon.
It will be a new, high level Menu, option.
It will contain Code Capture, API Explorer, and maybe more in the future.
You can read a short post, showing off the interface.
VMware Tools 10.3.10 released
I think I’ll wait a few weeks before rolling this out.
Remember,…VMware Tools can be upgraded separately from ESXi upgrades (where we have historically seen new versions of Tools after a host upgrade).
Support for ESXi versions 6.0 and greater.
Release Notes are here.
VMware Horizon View 7.8 Released
It’s been a while since the last release.
View has been updated to 7.8.
Windows Server 2019 support.
50 Cloud Pod Sites, with 10,000 sessions per pod!
250,000 sessions
6 monitors for your Horizon Client.
New HTML5 client got some new features added (almost complete).
The Logon presented to a user has changed its default behavior…this blog post from VMware covers it nicely.
YouTube video showing off the new features (7 minutes).
Release Notes are here.
Other components have been updated as well….
VMware UAG (Unified Access Gateway)
This has been updated to 3.5.
On the download page, there is even a UAG for Azure right there!
PowerShell scripts for Azure & AWS deployment, as well as PDFs covering the how to.
Certificate replacement made easier for PCoIP Secure Gateway.
The LIcenseEdition field that appeared in version 3.4 no longer appears during deployment (is that because it is deprecated or just configured elsewhere? Have to play and see.
Release notes are here.
VMware App Volumes 2.16 released
Another EUC component updated.
SQL Server 2008 no longer supported (good!).
Can run on Windows Server 2019.
Release notes are here.
VMware UEM (User Environment Manager) 9.7.0 released
and the final update in the View stack….
I don’t see any new features, but the updated version is here.
Release notes are here.
VMware vROPs Sizing Tool
I just used this one again, and thought it worth bringing up again.
This tool is provided by VMware, and can help with sizing vROPs.
Give it a try here (I can’t seem to get it working in Firefox).
VMware VCAP-NV Exam Prep
VMware has some Free prep courses for those looking to prepare for the VCAP-NV exam.
You will need to have a MyLearn account on VMware’s site, though most anyone taking this course will already have one.
VMware vSAN supports SQL Server Clutsers
Finally!
vSAN is now supported for shared disks in SQL Server clusters.
the downside…..only on VMware Cloud on AWS right now.
The support for this on-prem is coming (no dates just yet).
Here’s a blog post on the announcement, and how to configure this, from the VM perspective.
VMware Flings
Physical Desktop as a Thin Client
One of the things that is part of a VDI solution is the access device a user will use to GET to their VDI session.
Thin & Zero clients have been a pretty standard answer.
Occasionally, repurposing the desktop PC is a requirement, and finding a way to repurpose them required some additional 3rd party software.
Now VMware is providing a Fling to do just that.
Looks like it will ‘hack’ the Windows computer to just run Horizon View Client, but if repurposing desktop PCs is a requirement, this might work well enough.
vSAN HCL Checker
Its name tells you all you need to know.
Download an EXE to your workstation, run the EXE with appropriate switches, and it will check the storage adapter of your host against the vSAN HCL.
Nutanix Move 3.0 released
Saw this on Magnus Anderson‘s site.
Pretty cool how this is now a containerized offering.
Support for AWS EBS backed EC2 instances, and Hyper-V.
Release Notes are here.
User Guide is here.
DellEMC Interactive Demos
This is no VMware Hands on Labs equivalent, but it is a useful demo tool.
This is a walkthrough of what happens when everything goes perfectly.
I tired out the DellEMC Interactive Demo myself (I did the VxRail 4.7).
There is no planning or requirements for the product you are demoing (at least in the VxRail demo I did), but it does go through the setup and usage.
No sign in required.
You can do it online, or download a zip (containing HTML pages) that you can take with you.
Homelab users rejoice – NUC now supports 64-GB RAM
Of course, William Lam/VirtuallyGhetto ends up in another update…..
The first round of testing 2 x 32-GB DIMMs in an Intel NUC, specifically Hades Canyon.
Check out his post, as it is a short read.
Upcoming Conferences
VMware Empower (for Partners only) – Atlanta, GA 4/15-4/19
VMware Empower (for Partners only) – Singapore, 4/24-4/26
Nutanix .NEXT – Anaheim, CA 5/7-5/9
Red Hat Summit – Boston, MA 5/7-5/9
VMware Empower (for Partners only) – Lisbon 5/20-5/23
HPE Discover – Las Vegas, NV 6/18-6/20
VMworld 2019 US – San Francisco, CA 8/26-8/29
VMworld 2019 EMEA – Barcelona, Spain 11/4-11/7