To try and keep this simplistic, we will start with our review of VMware’s offering. VMware’s main virtualization products are Fusion for an Apple Mac, Workstation for a desktop and vSphere for a server. Despite all the hundreds of products, for a small business that is all you need to know. The complication then becomes with vSphere product is right for you. If you are a small business, there are two offerings vSphere Essentials and vSphere Essentials Plus. That’s it!

Source: vSphere Essentials for Small Business

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYjnxjFGRqc

Source: VMworld 2013

Going forward, we are looking to see what VMWare added new to vMotion in terms of networking requirements. Really, not too much! At a close look we can notice same best practices that are recommended (see also this forum thread):

• Use one dedicated GigE adapter for vMotion.
• If only two Ethernet adapters are available:
  • For best security, dedicate the GigE adapter to vMotion, and use VLANs to divide the virtual machine and management traffic on the other adapter.
  • For best availability, combine both adapters into a bond, and use VLANs to divide traffic into networks: one or more for virtual machine traffic and one for vMotion.

Configure the virtual networks on vMotion enabled hosts as follows:

• On each host, configure a VMkernel port group for vMotion.
• Ensure that virtual machines have access to the same subnets on source and destination hosts.
• If you are using standard switches for networking, ensure that the network labels used for virtual machine port groups are consistent across hosts. During a migration with vMotion, vCenter Server assigns virtual machines to port groups based on matching network labels.

Note:

You cannot migrate virtual machines that are attached to a virtual intranet with vMotion, even if the destination host has a virtual intranet configured with the same network label.

• If you are using vSphere Distributed Switches for networking, ensure that source and destination hosts are members of all vSphere Distributed Switches that virtual machines use for networking.
• Use of Jumbo Frames is recommended for best vMotion performance.

However, same source mention a Knowledge Base article (ID: 2007467) which states that now vMotion network can make use of multiple NICs. In other words, if in ESX4.1 we were looking worried at a slow, single path process, frequently I/O saturated, now there is a way to speed up VM transfers and have a failover /safety net available.

Here there are steps that KB 2007467 recommends in order to implement a multiple NIC solution in vSphere5.

How to set up Multi-NIC vMotion in vSphere 5.x on a Standard vSwitch:

1. Log into the vSphere Client and select the host from the inventory panel.
2. Click the Configuration tab and select Networking.
3. Click Add Networking and choose VMkernel as the Connection Type.
4. Click Next.
5. Add two or more NICs to the required standard switch.

Note: You can create a new vSphere standard switch or use an existing vSwitch.

1. Name the VMkernelportgroup (for example, vMotion-01), and assign a VLAN ID as required.
2. Click Use this port group for vMotion, then click Next.
3. Configure the IP address and subnet mask, then click Next.
4. Click the Properties tab of the vSwitch, select the vMotion-01 portgroup, and click Edit.
5. Click the NIC Teaming tab.
6. Under Failover Order, select Override switch failover order.
7. Configure the first adapter (for example, vmnic1) as active and move the second adapter (for example, vmnic3) to standby.
8. Click OK.
9. Under the vSwitch Properties, click Add to create a second VMkernelportgroup.
10. Name the VMkernelportgroup (for example, vMotion-02), and assign a VLAN ID as required.

Note: Ensure that both VMkernel interfaces participating in the vMotion have the IP address from the same IP subnet.

1. Click Use this port group for vMotion, then click Next.
2. Configure the IP address and subnet mask, then click Next.
3. Click the Properties tab of the vSwitch, select the vMotion-02 portgroup, and click Edit.
4. Click the NIC Teaming tab.
5. Under Failover Order, select Override switch failover order.
6. Configure the second adapter (for example, vmnic3) as active and move the first adapter (for example, vmnic1) to standby.
7. On the Properties tab of the vSwitch, select each vMotionportgroup in turn and confirm that the active and standby adapters are the reverse of each other.

And how toset up Multi-NIC vMotion in vSphere 5.x on a Distributed vSwitch:

1. Log into the vSphere Client and click the Networking inventory.
2. Click New vSphere Distributed Switch and choose version 5.0.0.
3. Name the Distributed switch (for example, Multi-NIC-vMotion).
4. Assign two uplink ports to the switch, then click Next.
5. Select physical adapters to each of the hosts, then click Next and Finish.
6. Expand the Distributed switch you just created, click the dvPortGroup and click Edit Settings.
7. Name the dvPortgroup (for example, vMotion-01).
8. Click VLAN and assign a VLAN ID as required.
9. Click the Teaming and Failover tab, configure dvUplink1 as Active Uplink and move dvUplink2 to Standby Uplink.
10. Right-click the Distributed vswitch, then click New Port Group.
11. Name the dvPortgroup (for example, vMotion-02).
12. Click VLAN and assign a VLAN ID as required, then click Next and Finish.
13. Select the second portgroup created, then click the Teaming and Failover tab.
14. Configure dvUplink2 as Active Uplink and move dvUplink1 to Standby Uplink.
15. Go the Hosts and Clusters Inventory tab, select a host’s Networking, and click vSphere Distributed Switch.
16. Click Manage Virtual Adapters and click Add to add new virtual adapter.
17. Choose VMkernel as the Virtual Adapter Type.
18. Select the vMotion-01 portgroup, click Use this port group for vMotion, then click Next.
19. Configure the IP address and subnet mask, then click Next and Finish.
20. Add another virtual adapter, then select the vMotion-02 portgroup.
21. On the Distributed vSwitch, select each dvportgroup on VMKernel Port vmk1 and vmk2 in turn, and confirm that the active and standby uplinks are the reverse of each other.

Please, note that this new feature is not some kind of routed IP storage and dedicated subnet is required for this specific type of traffic.

During my tests, I found it a cool feature and I warmly recommend it to all of you, out there in VMWare community.

Till my next post, all the best!

Sources:

• http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-51/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.vmware.vsphere.vm_admin.doc%2FGUID-55238059-912E-411F-A0E9-A7A536972A91.html
• http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=2007467
• http://www.yellow-bricks.com/2011/09/17/multiple-nic-vmotion-in-vsphere-5/
• http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-4-esx-vcenter/index.jsp?topic=/com.vmware.vsphere.dcadmin.doc_41/vsp_dc_admin_guide/migrating_virtual_machines/c_vmotion_networking_requirements.html

Source: What’s new in vMotion for ESX5?

Required Downloads:

• Download Driver CD. Find below the link to the driver for Intel 10Gigabit Ethernet adapter:

https://my.vmware.com/

Download this iso and burn to a CD or extract to an accessible volume.

• Download vSphereCLI – will use this remote tool in place of service console to update the driver

http://downloads.vmware.com

Instructions:

• Install vSphereCLI on a windows system which will we use to remotely access the ESXi server. See Instructions on this below *

• Put Driver ISO CD in CD Rom drive of remote windows system (or extract the iso to an accessible location

• Open vSphere CLI command prompt:

C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware vSphere CLI\bin

Check you are in the\bin directory and change to it if not

• Run the vihostupdate command to install drivers using the offline bundle.

vihostupdate<conn_options> –install –bundle <offline-bundle>.zip

For this example will consider following parameters:

vihostupdate.pl –server ip 192.168.10.11 –install –bundle E:\offline-bundle\INT-intel-lad-DT-esxi4x-intel-10g-3.4.23-offline bundle_82598.zip

• You will next be prompted for a username and password: enter the username and password for the ESX Host.

NOTE: SSH for root is disabled by default. If you do not have permissions, you should setup another user with shell access. and then using that user to log on.

Then retry logging on using this user

• Afterwards reboot the ESX host

The driver should now be loaded.

Hope you will find this article useful!

Source: Oldies but goodies: How to install NIC drivers under ESX4.1

The reason I make that statement is a good friend of mine had tried Parallels in an earlier incarnation. I will be kind and say the distaste left in her mouth is coloring her judgment even though I am having great success with later versions.

Certainly the current version is faster than previous versions. For my purposes that does not really matter. Starting with version 7 it was “good enough”.

Thinking hard, I cannot remember seeing the program crash since version 7. However there is an improvement I am completely delighted about. That is the stability of Parallels Tools. They have done two things for Parallels Tools that I am thrilled about.

Tools now install auto magically. While that is a nice convenience it means nothing compared to the other rope trick they got going. I am thrilled to report that copy and paste between OS X and Windows works, first time and every time. This is a huge milestone for Parallels, well-worth mentioning in our Parallels 8 review.

Generally speaking I have always preferred the versions of OS X over the past three or so years over Windows. Not that I thought Windows 7 was bad. I just preferred OS X because of its slightly better security and more efficient use of the given resources.

And there are some things that are only available in Windows, full-stop.

Now with Mountain Lion, Parallels Version 8 and Windows 8 I have reached my computing nirvana. I’m not getting any BSOD’s from Windows 8 since Christmas 2011, OS X makes a pretty tough bar to overcome for the bad guys and Parallels (with for me the all-important copy & paste) is giving me my Windows tools inside OS X.

In the grudge match between Fusion from VMware and Parallels I believe Parallels takes the gold medal. It is apparent that the company understands it has achieved something pretty close to nirvana. Prior to this version when parallels would check for an update (I have mine set for every 14 days) there was indeed an update.

I installed version 8 August 31 and it had one update on September 5. Today is Sunday, October 7th, and I did a manual check for updates. There are none. I have not been having any issues and based on the lack of updates it appears no one else is either.

Source: Parallels Desktop 8 Review

VMware certainly improve the performance in its current incarnation for Macintosh over Fusion 4. They also announced a competitive upgrade for Parallel users.

And here it is a mere week later and we upgraded Parallels 7 to Parallels 8. The general release of this version is 3 September 2012.

As you can see in our video the upgrade was painless. Just be sure to quit Parallels before you begin or you will get an ‘I can’t do that notice’ from Parallels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQzXTN1TMcw

There is no opportunity to keep your previous version – it must be erased. However for the paranoid, you are running Time Machine, aren’t you?

And we had absolutely zero issues as you can see in the video. In the immediate future we will be looking at what’s new in Parallels 8. The short answer is, plenty. And right off the bat we do not need a stopwatch to confirm that start up and suspending virtual machines is indeed faster.

VMware Fusion 5 started a horse race between itself and Parallels Desktop 7. That lasted about a week.

The finesse of being able to display Windows 8 with Mac display quality is a sight to behold. Due to video compression it may be difficult to show you this. We fully expect to see a trial version of Parallels 8 shortly so you can find out for yourself.

There are a number of other slick tricks they have stuffed into the code, which we will delve into shortly.

One welcome feature in the new version is there is no longer a question about Parallels Tools installation. In previous incarnations of Parallels this has been a little bit of an issue from time to time. In the new version Tools installs without prompting. As part of our testing we went to a snapshot created in Parallels 7 and installed it. Parallels 8 immediately installed Tools without being prompted.

Stay tuned.

Source: VMware Fusion 5 vs Parallels Desktop 8

And That Ladies and Gentlemen, Is an Understatement.

Simply select install from ISO and make sure “Use Easy Install” is checked which is by default.

Enter your credentials, and choose between More Seamless or More Isolated. In the former mode files are shared from your Windows side to your Mac side. VMware does make a point to remind you to keep your antivirus software updated on your Windows side in this mode.

In the more isolated mode you must manually cut-and-paste your data between the two Operating Systems.

In our testing Fusion 5 defaulted to two gigs of RAM and you may customize your settings before you build.

From there it looks just like the video from migrating from Parallels Version 7 with the exception of it takes a little longer since it is a new build.

The video is under a minute, representing Easy Install is just what it says.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dpy5aD58TZc

Source: VMware Fusion 5 Windows 8 ISO Installation – Easy Install Video

Setting aside the jargon laced presentation the companies new Cloud Ops entry titled as a “New Operating Model for the Cloud Era” has some meat and potatoes coming from the premier virtualization firm.

Before delving into this let me ask you to: raise your hand if you want to levy a fine against the next person who says or writes the word ‘cloud’ anywhere within three words that suggests new, revolutionary, game changing or any other of these hype words.

I don’t know about you and I am getting really tired of idiots attempting to blow smoke up my skirt. Rhetorically, let me ask you a question. When was the first time you set up or used ‘the cloud?’

For me it was in the 1970s. With the help of my telco (AT&T – the nation’s only telco) I provisioned an X.25 line. Analog in nature and delivered about a real 55 kb a second. So for me sure, the cloud is new – 40 years ago. Now let’s presume some of our readers are under the age of 21. The World Wide Web was already there. So from their perspective the cloud on a GUI is as much a part of life as air and gravity.

My rant above is not just me letting off steam (although it certainly helps, thank you). Its purpose is to set up your thinking so you understand that VMware is doing exactly what it needs to do to survive. Is working on lowering the costs of the setup and maintenance of a maturing technology called ‘the cloud’.

If VMware fails to do this EMC Squared (EMC2) will find themselves writing off one of the crown jewels to Microsoft. Microsoft is introducing its third version of Hyper-V. Historically this is a scary time for its competitors. Remember DOS version 3, Windows version 3, Word version 3, Word for Windows version 3, Internet Explorer version 3, yada yada.

As it was so well described in the book: The Innovators Dilemma, technology marches forward as prices move downward and this follows a logical progression until a disruptive technology begins the new cycle. Yes I am simplifying things down to two sentences, and that is the gist of it.

If there is a failure in this forward march, we can look to Pogo for the answer. According to comic strip from approximately 80 years ago: “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”

The cloud is 40 years old. We have been running virtual machines on mainframes for at least as long. Where we will fail is if we don’t intelligently break down our data silos. If I had a choice between a data silo and no data silo I would choose the castle walls, every time.

I am not saying data silos are a good thing. I’m saying unfettered access will lead to mayhem and security breakdowns. This is where analyzing where it appears VMware is going at least conceptually, is a wonderful thing.

I see the makings of data silos being accessed without mayhem. Flexible cloud configuration and management without needing the IT version of World War II’s Marshall Plan. And perhaps most importantly VMware and Microsoft keeping each other from getting too arrogant.

Source: VMWorld 2012 – State of the Virtualization Address

We already saw that at least Fusion 5 got rid of the annoying flashing of the shortcut icons. And how good did VmWare do on importing Paralles V 7 is our next question.

In the interest of being fair in our comparison after installing Fusion 5 we commanded it to import the Parallels 7 install as you see in the video below.

It shows that VMware has done their homework on Windows 8. The release notes also say an improved graphics performance will be observed as far back as XP. This implies an improved experience with Microsoft Vista as well as Windows 7. Were pretty comfortable with that expectation since marketing names aside, Vista is NT version 6.0, Windows 7 is NT version 6.1 while Windows 8 is NT version 6.2.

The import and conversion of Parallels 7 in a word: flawless. As you can see in the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJdsUMezVkI

We’re going to go back into the huddle and test bringing in Windows 8 from an ISO image. VMware says this is easier than ever before. Were going to put that to the test. And based on our first look we expect to be delighted.

Source: VMware Fusion 5 Imports Parallels v7 Virtual Machines

It is well known that in order to take full advantage of the Jumbo Frames support, you have to be consistent in settings all across your virtual infrastructure. This means adjusting values at the vSwitch, as well as the Storage Heartbeat VMkernel Port and iSCSI VMkernel Ports. In addition, the physical switch layer must be configured to support Jumbo Frames.

Here it is the trail of vCLI commands in ESX4.1 for a vSwitch2 example:

First, we create the vSwitch:

esxcfg-vswitch –a vSwitch2

Then, we enable Jumbo Frames on the vSwitch:

esxcfg-vswitch –m 9000 vSwitch2

Following step is to assign VMkernel port to the newly created vSwitch2:

esxcfg-vswitch –A iSCSI1 vSwitch2

Then we set up the MTU value on the vmknic:

esxcfg-vmknic –a –i 192.168.1.102 –n 255.255.255.0 –m 9000 iSCSI1

To verify the configuration enter the following command:

esxcfg-vswitch –l

This will show the VMkernel ports that are assigned to the vSwitch.

Here it is the Properties window of vSwitch2:

And here it is an example for a more approachable set up of Jumbo Frames usage in ESX5:

To enable Jumbo Frames, select the vSwitch created for iSCSI connectivity and click Properties.

1. Select the vSwitch; you will see under the Advanced Properties pane on the right the MTU is defaulted to 1500. By clicking the Edit button this value can be changed to 9000.

2. Select the General tab and under the Advanced Properties change the MTU from 1500 to 9000 and click OK.

As an important note, all other components need same adjustment. Using Properties pane of the Standard vSwitch apart from vSwitch itself, the Storage Heartbeat and each of the iSCSI# VMkernel Ports must be configured on same value.

When this is complete click Close to exit out of the vSwitch Properties page.

In the end, we would like to stress out that Jumbo Frames are fully dependent on your physical infrastructure, which should be able to accommodate them.

Happy usage of ESX!

Source: Release the pain: Adjusting Jumbo Frames Support in ESX5 vs ESX4