Virtual Updates 2019-10-28

VMworld 2019 – Barcelona
Can’t wait to hear all the news from this next week!
With all the vRealize Suite 8 components released this past week…
I expect we can hear more about vSphere’s next release…

VMware Snapshot problems – Again!
I first came across this from a post on The Register.
Windows 2019 on vSphere 6.5 & 6.7 has quiesce issues….
This reminds me of the CBT bug from vSphere 6.0.
This VMware KB does not inspire me with confidence (recommends turning off App Quiesce OR to convert from GPT disks to MBR disks)…
I hope I’m just reading old news….

Sudo Flaw! – patch your distributions!
Found an article calling this out on thehackernews.com.
It summarizes how to use sudo without proper authorization or passwords.
It shows how to exploit it.
It states that all sudo versions prior to 1.8.28 are affected
(1.8.28 was released 10/14/2019)

VMware PowerCLI 11.5.0 released
Released on 10/24/19.
Some updates for Horizon, VMC, HCX, and NSX-T
Just run Update-Module -Name VMware.PowerCLI
Release notes are here.

VCSA 6.7 Update 3 – not sending syslog
Even if you go to the vCenter VAMI (port 5480) and configure the syslog server settings, VCSA will stop sending logs within a few minutes.
VMware is looking to patch this soon (no Update 3a did not fix it either).

VMware Horizon View Desktop – Optimization Guide
This is always something that draws questions….
What version of Windows 10 / Office / Horizon Agent / UEM (DEM) Agent / App Volumes Agent should I use to build my master VDI image?
VMware doc Creating an Optimized Windows Image for a VMware Horizon Virtual Desktop has been updated.
Win10 1809, 1903, 1909 are added to Tested.
VMware OS Optimization fling has been updated 9/21/19

VMware NSX-T – Free Exam Prep
Are you planning on taking the VCP NSX-T 2.4 exam?
VMware Learning Zone has some free exam prep for you.

VMware NSX-T Free Books
Need to learn NSX? VMware Press has you covered.
In this VMware blog post, a reminder that you can grab electronic copies of the following 10 NSX books
VMware Cloud on AWS: NSX Networking & Security
VMware NSX Automation Fundamentals Guide
VMware NSX Network Virtualization Fundamentals
VMware NSX Multi-Site Solutions & Cross vCenter NSX Design
VMware NSX for Disaster Recovery
Building VMware NSX Powered Clouds & Data Centers (Small & Medium)
VMware NSX Micro-Segmentation: Day 1 Guide
VMware NSX Micro-Segmentation: Day 2 Guide
Operationalizing VMware NSX
Automating NSX for vSphere with PowerNSX

vCenter 6.7 Update 3a released
Seems to fix a couple of Converge issues, and one where vSAN components did not show up in the client after upgrading to U3.
Release Notes are here.

VMware vRLCM (vRealize LifeCycle Manager) 8.0 release
While vRLCM has been around for a couple years, I’m amazed at how few times I see it running in the wild.
While it has always handled the vRealize Suite of software, it now add vRNI (vRealize Network Insight) to its list of managed software.
Also, when you download vRA, you are given a vRLCM-vRA.ova.
Looks like the only way going forward is to use vRLCM to deploy vRA.
vIDM (now Workspace ONE Access) is fully integrated as well, and can provide Identity for all deployed vRealize software.
Integration with GitHub.
Marketplace integration for Content Packs and Management Packs….looking to see the Bitnami pieces available here soon….
A 4 minute YouTube video on what’s new is here.
Product documentation is here.
Release notes are here.

VMware vRA (vRealize Automation) 8.0 released
VMware Blog post reviewing the install & config of vRA 8.
Product documentation is here.
Release notes are here.

VMware vRLI (vRealize Log Insight) 8.0 released
Right off the bat, the OS has been changed to Photon OS.
Not to worry…in place upgrades handle the OS change beautifully.
Agents are now open source, and download locations for them have changed to under Drivers & Tools, and are in the SDK.
Looks, acts, and feels like any old vRLI you are used to.
Even with that promise from the readme, I had about a 50% success rate with upgrades of vRLI in place. couldn’t figure it out.
VMware blog post on what’s new.
Product documentation is here.
Release notes are here.

VMware vROPs (vRealize Operations Manager) 8.0 released
Can’t wait to see how this new release improves things.
Found an issue during the upgrade…
I had my password policy set so that I would not be required to update my vROPs passwords every 90 days (it’s a lab).
Had failed error checks in the upgrade, that stated my admin user password had expired.
I had to change the password (even though I stated I didn’t in my password Policy) in order to upgrade to the new vROPs version.

I noted some nuances in the notes so far….
A Cloud Account is required (which is a common term across vRealize 8 products) that refers to vCenter, AWS, or Azure accounts. No big deal, as it is just a change from the term vCenter Adapter.
Service Discovery is now native.
Efficiency & Intent seem to get a lot of attention in this update.
What if scenarios seem to have improved.
Costing got a makeover as well.
vROPs Sizer tool handles version 8.0 as well.
A VMware Blog post on what’s new.
An 11 minute YouTube video on the Troubleshooting Workbench.
A 13 minute YouTube video on Capacity & Costing in vROPs 8.
Product documentation is here.
Release notes are here.

VMware vRO (vRealize Orchestrator) 8.0 released
Product documentation is here.
Release notes are here.

VMware VCF (VMware Cloud Foundation) 3.9 released
Lost of new releases added to the support of VCF 3.9
VMware blog post is here.

VMware vROPs Management Pack for Container Monitoring
With all the love from Project Pacific, I’m surprised that this is not part of the vROPs 8 installation.
A link to the VMware Marketplace, and this management pack.

VMware on AWS – Sizing & TCO
This is a cool read….
It will provide a link to the VMC Sizer tool.
Using tools we all have access to (vROPs, LiveOptics, or RVtools), you can use the VMC Sizer to get an idea of what this type of solution requires for hardware, what it costs, and what return you’ll get.
Yes, you’ll still need to type stuff in manually (no auto import of data sets exists yet).

AWS RDS (Relational Database Service) on VMware generally available
I know a few people who were interested in this.
Saw the GA announcement the other day here.
Essentially, make your VMware Private (or any) Cloud a region in your AWS Console, and deploy RDS to your vSphere environment.
VMware Blog post on how this works.
I know that sounds simple, but there is quite a bit of prep to do this.

Ubuntu 19.10 released
For fans of Ubuntu, this latest STS release is now available.
Downloads are here.

Upcoming Conferences
VMworld 2019 EMEA – Barcelona, Spain 11/4-11/7
VeeamON Virtual Event – online 11/20
AWS re:Invent – Las Vegas, NV 12/2-12/6
VeeamOn – Las Vegas, NV 5/4 – 5/6 (2020)
Cisco Live! – Las Vegas, NV 5/31 – 6/4 (2020)
HPE Discover – Las Vegas, NV 6/23-6/25 (2020)
VMworld 2020 – San Francisco, CA 8/30-9/3 (2020)