On July 17th VMware released another update to the VMware Validated Design for Software-Defined Data Center (VVD for SDDC). This latest release (4.3) continues to build on the momentum established with previous updates by introducing many new features and capabilities that continue to improve the SDDC architecture and make it easier for customers to deploy and operate a VMware based private cloud based on the Software-Defined Data Center (SDDC) architecture.
Software Bill of Materials
Of course, with every update to the VVD for SDDC there are updates to the software Bill of Materials (BOM). The VVD for SDDC 4.3 includes updates to both the vSphere 6.5 software stack and the NSX version. However, what’s more significant is that the VVD for SDDC 4.3 now includes the latest versions of the vRealize Suite, to include vRealize Automation 7.4and vRealize Operations 6.7.
Upgrade Guidance Shipped in Unison
With the updated software BOM, the 4.3 release also includes upgrade guidance for upgrading from the VVD for SDDC 4.2 release. A lot of work went into testing and validating the upgrade guidance and we’re very pleased to be able to provide the upgrade guidance in unison with the genreal availbility of the VVD for SDDC 4.3 release.
Introducing vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager
Along with including the latest versions of the vRealize Suite, the VVD for SDDC 4.3 also includes guidance on how to leverage the vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager appliance to simplify the deployment of the vRealize Suite software components. The VVD for SDDC 4.3 uses the 1.2 version of the vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager which includes many features and capabilities to help simplify the way you manage content and includes the new integrated Marketplace. This is a very nice addition to the VVD for SDDC architecture.
vRealize Automation 3-Node Cluster
Another new feature of note, that is tied to the inclusion of vRealize Automation 7.4, is the extension of the vRealize Automation appliance cluster from 2-nodes to 3-nodes.
This change adds support for automatic failover of the PostreSQL database. If you’re already running the VVD for SDDC 4.2 the upgrade guide includes guidance on how to expand your existing 2-node cluster to 3-nodes in order to take advantage of this feature.
NSX-T Early Access
While introducing this latest update to the VMware Validated Designs I’d be remiss if I didn’t also share the news of our NSX-T Early Access guide that is available on the VMware Validated Designs Community website. This guide shows our plans for introducing NSX-T inside of the workload domains running in your private cloud. Currently, the early access document only provides a glimps into the high-level design guidance. Watch for the official support of NSX-T, which will also include implementation guidance, to follow in a future release of the VMware Validated Designs.
Summary
The VMware Validated Designs provide a prescriptive path to designing, deploying and operating a modern private cloud based on VMware’s SDDC architecture. This latest VVD, the VMware Validated Design for Software-Defined Data Center 4.3, extends these capabilities by incorporating ongoing software updates and the inclusion of several new features and capabilities to include use of the vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager, upgrades to vRealize Automation 7.4 with automated PostgreSQL database failover, and upgrade to vRealize Operations 6.7. I invite you to spend some time getting familiar with the VMware Validated Designs and visit us on the VVD Community and let us know what you think.
