Recently there has been a lot of interest in VMware’s Virtual Volumes (VVols) technology as our shared- storage customers begin to understand the value of deploying vSphere policy-based storage management. As our customers have become more experienced with VVols, many have started to ask how they can implement business continuance and disaster recovery solutions using Read more...
One of the fastest growing classes of applications running on VMware’s HCI offering (vSphere and vSAN) is next-gen applications, also known as cloud-native apps (CNA). These applications are typically containerized, comprise of many micro-services, they are distributed and often implement their own availability and fault-tolerance features. Running containers on top of virtual machines is not Read more...
Introduction I got a question from a customer a while back about backing up and replicating encrypted VMs – it’s a fair question, “if they’re encrypted, how can I backup and restore”? This was particularly pertinent as the customer in question was a service provider – so it wasn’t as clean cut and straightforward as Read more...
On a call today this question came up: “Can vSAN be used with other storage?” This is a very common question, covered in the vSAN FAQ on storagehub.vmware.com, as well in other publicly facing VMware.com documentation. The answer is an absolute YES! A vSAN Cluster can also use traditional datastores and/or use VVols. Why wouldn’t this be supported? Read more...
In this series about SPBM, (Storage Policy Based Management), we will review and explore the many options in using SPBM to manage your virtual storage environment. SPBM policies are categorized into three main areas; Storage Capabilities and Services, Data Services and Tags. Storage Capabilities and Services SPBM policies are used when datastores, such as vSAN Read more...
I received a question recently that revolved around the distinction between the different types of VM Storage Policies available, namely Storage Policy Based Management (SPBM) for vSAN and VVols, and tag-based placement (for all datastores). SPBM is the storage management framework inherent within vSAN and VVols that allows for granular control over your VM Read more...
As VMworld season approaches, and the VMworld catalog is live, you may have some questions. You may ask yourself “Where do I start with so much material”? And you may ask yourself “Who’s session should I attend?” And you may wonder “How do I get into that party?” And you may ask yourself “Where Read more...
No Problem extending VM disks past 2TB, just upgrade to vSphere 6.5 or above! Many IT administrators have run into the issue of not being able to hot-extend a virtual disk past 2TB without first having to power off the VM. This can be a significant impact on business and may well result in disruptions Read more...
Customers often times want a fast system, and rightfully so. But what is fast anyway? How do you define it, and how do you measure it? “Performance” is a term that is quite subjective if not properly defined, and appropriately measured. When it comes to performance expectations what defines success? This week on the Virtually Read more...
The vSphere 6.7 release offers several new features and enhancements to further the advancement of storage functionality. This week we welcome VMware Core Storage expert Jason Massae to walk us through various features and enhancements. Sitting in for John this week is VMware Chief Technologist in the Office of the CTO and good friend of the Virtually Read more...
