Coinciding with VMworld 2018 we have several updates to the VMware Validated Designs (VVDs) that I’m happy to announce. Hopefully, you caught the recent VMware Validated Design for SDDC 4.3 announcement from last month? With the VVD for SDDC 4.3 we updated the software bill of materials (BOM), introduced support for using the vRealize Lifecycle Manager (vRSLCM) appliance with the VVDs, and updated the designs with an improved 3-node architecture for the vRealize Automation cluster. Prior to that, in February 2018, we announced the VMware Validated Design for SDDC 4.2, which added, among other things, support for multiple availability zones and vSAN stretched clustering. As you can see we have been very busy working to continually improve on the VMware Validated Designs and add new functionality. Building on the momentum from these past two updates, I’m happy to share that we have several new announcements that we’ll be making at VMworld 2018.
Official NSX-T Support
First, I’m excited to announce that we have completed our validation of NSX-T inside a compute workload domain! You may recall that last month, coinciding with the VVD for SDDC 4.3 release, that we published a preview of the NSX-T Architecture and Design Guide on the VMware Communities as part of our early access program. Today I get to share that we have officially completed our testing and validation and you can now find both the NSX-T Architecture and Design Guide and the NSX-T Deployment Guide included as part of the official VVD for SDDC 4.3 documentation.
Documentation Updates
Along adding support for deploying NSX-T inside a compute workload domain, we have also been working to update several of our “day-2” and operational guides that are included with the VVDs. This includes updates to the following docs:
- IT Automating IT Scenarios
- Intelligent Operations Scenarios
- Introduction to Security and Compliance
- Operational Verification
- Certificate Replacement for 2-pod
- Certificate Replacement for 1-pod
Again, you can access all of these updated guides from the VMware Validated Design documentation site at http://vmware.com/go/vvd-docs.
Early Access Guides
I’d also like to share with you the news of three new documents that are now available as part of our early access program. We implemented the VVD early access program as both a means to keep customers apprised of the work we are doing to continually add new features and capabilities to the VVDs and as a way to solicit timely feedback and allow you to help guide the future development of the VMware Validated Designs. Please note that these early access features should not be deployed in production environments as they are “early access” (i.e. still a work in progress). However, feel free to review them and try them out in test environments. Once we complete the validation work they will be officially incorporated into the VVD documentation at which time you can then deploy them in production.
These early access guides are publicly available on the VMware Communities. I invite you to look them over and again, feel free to provide any feedback you may have.
Architecture and Design of VMware PKS for Workload Domains
This early access guide covers the architecture and design elements for adding PKS 1.1.x to a VMware Validated Design workload domain for a new container services layer.
The container services layer enables enterprises and service providers to simplify the deployment and operations of Kubernetes-based container services within the VMware SDDC. In the container services layer, access to production-grade Kubernetes distribution with advanced networking, built-in private registry, and full lifecycle management support of the clusters is provided on top of and integrated with the SDDC.
Design and Deployment of VMware Skyline
This early access guide covers the architecture and design elements, along with a look at the deployment guidance for adding
Skyline Collector 1.4 to the VMware Validated Design and is applicable to single-region, dual-region, and multi-availability zones.
VMware Skyline is a technology for proactive support. VMware Skyline uses automation to securely collect data and perform environment-specific analytics on configuration, feature, and performance data. The resulting information improves visibility in your environment. As a result, VMware and your organization interact without extensive time and investment by support administrators. As a result, proactive, predictive, and prescriptive recommendations by VMware improve the stability and reliability of the environment. In addition, reactive support issues can be resolved more quickly.
Architecture and Design Guidance for NIST 800-53
This Early Access guide represents an initial release of architecture and design guidance specific to NIST 800-53. This compliance domain will serve as our baseline that will then be translated and enhanced into specific guidance documents to address each regulation as a stand-alone document.
VVD Diagrams and Stencils
Finally, along with the early access docs, something else that is new on the communities is that we have posted the VVD diagrams and stencils. We get a lot of requests for access to these diagrams and figured the communities site would be a great way to share them with our customers. Check them out!
DIAGRAMS
Conclusion
As you can see, there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes to continually improve and enhance the VMWare Validated Designs. If you are going to be at VMworld, I invite you to swing buy our booth and meet some of the team and learn more about the VMware Validated Designs. Oh, and of course, be sure to attend our breakout sessions. I’ve included a summary of the VVD sessions below. If you aren’t able to make it to VMworld, I invite you to access the documentation at http://vmware.com/go/vvd-docs and to join to the VVD Community where you can review the early access documents and join the discussion to let us know what you think of the VMware Validated Designs and share your thoughts on how we can make them even better.
VMworld 2018 VVD Sessions
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
