For while now, there’s been some speculation that VMware vCloud Director was no longer a priority for VMware – but that couldn’t be further from the truth. With the release of vCloud Director 8.10 this spring, VMware has doubled down on its dedication to enhancing the product, and we’ve even expanded our training program to keep pace with the evolving needs of its users.
Make no mistake, vCloud Director fits into VMware’s larger vision for the software defined data center (SDDC) now more than ever before. So let’s take the time to clear up a few of the biggest misconceptions out there today.
- MYTH #1 – vCloud Director is End-of-Life or End-of-Support: Not at all! In May 2016, VMware released vCloud Director 8.10, the latest version of the product, in response to customer feedback and an industry-wide move to the hybrid cloud. New features in this release includes distributed resource scheduler affinity and anti-affinity for VMs and UI integration of NSX for heightened security. To get customers up to speed with the new release, our team has launched a free vCloud Director 8.10 Fundamentals eLearning course, and after VMworld Europe, we plan to expand these offerings through new vCloud Director Hands-on Labs via the VMware HOL Online portal. Later this month, we are also offering an extensive 5-day lab from October 31 – November 4, titled “vCloud Director 8.10: Install, Configure, Manage” that walks participants through the process of building a data center environment that leverages not only vCloud Director but also Virtual SAN and NSX.
- MYTH #2 – Usage is Lagging: False! In fact, the opposite is true. Not only is usage of vCloud Director increasing, but it’s reaching new levels of growth.Look no further than Zettagrid, a cloud computing infrastructure as a service (IaaS) provider, which deployed vCloud Director to simplify data center provisioning. Or iland, an award-winning enterprise cloud infrastructure provider that uses vCloud Director to supply greater flexibility and customization to its clients. Furthermore, VMware continues to partner with members of its independent software vendor program group to catalogue and support the most recent products built by ISVs that are compatible with VCD through it through the VMware solution exchange. vCloud Director has proven itself a valued partner for customers across industries and hybrid cloud ecosystems, and version 8.10 only solidifies VMware’s continued commitment to the product and its users.
- MYTH #3 – User Interface (UI) is Static: Wrong again. You spoke, and we listened. A change in direction from previous versions, the release of vCloud Director 8.10 demonstrated a commitment to the UI by exposing all features directly through the UI and achieving feature parity with the API. Features now available on the UI include storage profiling, tenant throttling, and self-service VDC templates that give vCloud Director a more robust and flexible platform for delivering IaaS solutions.
Through a combination feature updates that increase agility, new training opportunities, and an enhanced UI with heightened functionality, VMware continues to actively invest in the vCloud Director user experience. Rest assured, there’s more to come.
Is it still only available for Service Providers?
You can work with your account team to gain access or transition your existing vCD licenses to the current vCD-SP offering.
vCloud Director is available to Enterprise customers if they are a current vCloud Director customer
vCloud Director is available to Enterprise customers if a current vCloud Director user.
Roadmap, whats new, beta test, more and more info? Take for example VSAN Team
Yes, Beta test is in process with initial flight invites going out this week
Hi Ser – Please feel free to reach out to your VMware account rep (and ask them to contact the vCloud Director Product Marketing team) if you would like to learn more about your options or discuss the vCloud Director roadmap.
You killed the product for non service providors
Hi Patrick, the decision was made several years ago that vRealize Automation is the best solution for our Enterprise customers, and so vCloud Director is focused on the Service Provider segment and is no longer sold to new Enterprise customers. However Enterprise customers who still use vCloud DIrector have the option to transition to vRA or to upgrade to new versions of vCloud Director Service Provider (SP). Please feel free to reach out to your VMware account rep (and ask them to contact the vCloud Director Product Marketing team) if you would like to learn more about your options or discuss the vCD roadmap.
Thanks for sharing this useful information . I was also thought that vCloud Director is going to End-of-Support but now you have cleared my all the doubts . Thanks once again .