Traditionally, you would have to configure and manage virtual networks for each ESXi host and virtual machine (VM). VMware vSphere Distributed Switch (VDS) simplifies that. VDS offers centralized provisioning, monitoring, and management of virtual networks for selected hosts and VMs, making daily operations more convenient.

More and more people turn to hyperconverged infrastructures each year because, well, they do have a lot to offer. Many people are starting with such well-known and admirable solutions as VMware vSAN, enabling you to replace physically shared storage. That is an excellent choice, but there are a few things you need to know before you start.

Along with various recent updates, VMware released its new version of vSphere Replication 8.4. It’s a free perk that comes included with the vSphere package and has a limited potential to enable and operate VM replication to remote locations. Although it’s quite a basic feature, it can still provide valuable benefits for small deployments scenarios.

Good understanding of storage is vital to every IT admin, freshman or not. vSphere continues to innovate how it uses storage, so it’s better to brush up on existing ways before getting into novelties. So before checking out vSphere 7 and Tanzu with their Paravirtual Container Storage Interface (pvCSI), let’s repeat the core material.

In large infrastructures, there may be clusters of hosts that require patching. A full reboot would take quite a long time. Now, vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM) has a quick boot option (a kind of a warm boot), which allows for a much smoother boot. Additionally, the “desired state” image of the cluster feature will ensure that new hosts that differ for some reason from the “image” will be remediated to the desired state.

VMware VEBA is a tool that allows you to create event-driven automation with the ability to trigger custom or pre-built actions depending on your vSphere event. It’s currently distributed as a Fling and available as a virtual appliance, deployed via an OVA file. It’s easily deployable on-premises to your vSphere or in a public cloud if you’re using that scenario.

Finally, you won’t have to use Fling software to use the Advanced VMware Cross vCenter vMotion capability (XVM). The feature has been introduced as part of vSphere in the recent vCenter Server 7 U1c update. Now, you can bulk-migrate VMs between vCenter Server instances without both of them being part of the same SSO.

It’s wrong to think that nothing can hijack your data while you migrate it between your hosts across hybrid environments and public clouds. One may never be too sure in securing sensitive traffic at network endpoints is necessary at all times. That’s why you shouldn’t overlook encrypted vMotion and use its great capabilities that are already there, in vSphere 7.

Storage performance testing isn’t something one should take lightly, and VMware admins know this like any other. There are way too many tools to choose from, and you have no guarantee that you will get what you need. Or, at least, it used to be so, until VMware has released a new tool, Storage Performance Tester.