This VMware Cloud Foundation spotlight article summarizes the latest information we have received and seen from VMware by Broadcom since the end of February. A lot of great news and enhancements!

Why should you care about VMware Cloud Foundation?

VMware Cloud Foundation Is A Path Worth Investigating is one of my recent articles about VCF which gives customers, partners, and employees a better understanding of what the new VCF division is working on.

Enabling Load Balancer as a Service for VCF-based Private Cloud

As shared in the VMware: Business Simplification, Portfolio Innovation and Ecosystem Standardization blog, VMware by Broadcom introduces new Load Balancer as a Service (LBaaS) capabilities powered Aria Automation with VMware Avi Load Balancer.

Note: Avi is available as an add-on to VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF)

Through built in VCF capabilities, cloud admins will be able to offer application teams self-service access to L4-L7 load balancing services. This will enable application and infrastructure teams to immediately deploy load balancing at the time of application provisioning, with minimal know-how of load balancing technology or the need to create manual tickets.

This new capability is available with the Aria Automation 8.16.1 release. More information about this release can be found below.

LBaaS template examples can be found here: https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Aria-Automation/8.16/Using-Automation-Assembler/GUID-23057CA7-48ED-47FF-BF95-2C0734BAD2B5.html

Aria Operations Management Packs that are End of Life on December 31st, 2023

In case you missed it, some of the Aria Operations management packs went EoL on December 31st, 2023.

VMware Digital Learning Entitlement Walkthrough

VMware vSphere Product Line Comparison

Just a reminder that there is an updated version of the vSphere product license comparison available now for:

• vSphere Essentials Plus
• vSphere Standard
• vSphere Foundation

Note: Nvidia Grid vGPU support is only available in vSphere Foundation and VMware Cloud Foundation

Current NSX Feature Entitlement

I thought it might be worth mentioning the current NSX feature entitlement documentation again.

VMware Cloud Foundation and VMware vSphere Foundation: Feature Comparison & Upgrade Paths

Another document that might be new for you: VCF and VVF feature comparison and upgrade paths

A Closer Look at the M7i Instance on VMware Cloud on AWS

The disaggregated M7i.metal-24xl instance type is generally available now on VMware Cloud on AWS.

A major difference to current VMware Cloud on AWS instance types is that M7i.metal-24xl does not include local NVMe devices, meaning vSAN is not part of this instance type. For customers and workloads better suited for vSAN, the I3en or I4i nodes are the go-to choices. 

The M7i.metal-24xl instance uses Intel Sapphire Rapids CPU packages. Sapphire Rapids is a codename for Intel’s fourth-generation Xeon Scalable CPUs. It comes with 48 physical cores, with Hyper-Threading enabled resulting in 96 logical processors.

HA and DRS in VMware Cloud on AWS

This blog shares details about how HA and DRS are configured in VMware Cloud on AWS. It covers vSphere DRS, Elastic DRS (EDRS), and vSphere HA: https://vmc.techzone.vmware.com/resource/ha-and-drs-vmware-cloud-aws 

Initial Availability of VMware Private AI Foundation with NVIDIA

Presented at Nvidia GTC in mid-March, VMware by Broadcom announced the initial availability of VMware Private AI Foundation.

Built and run on  VMware Cloud Foundation, VMware Private AI Foundation with NVIDIA comprises the new NVIDIA NIM inference microservices,  AI models from NVIDIA and others in the community (such as Hugging Face), and NVIDIA AI tools and frameworks, which are available with NVIDIA AI Enterprise licenses. 

The solution brief of VMware Private AI Foundation with Nvidia can be found here: https://www.vmware.com/content/dam/digitalmarketing/vmware/en/pdf/docs/vmware-privateai-foundation-with-nvidia-solutions-brief.pdf

A technical overview can be found on tech zone: https://core.vmware.com/blog/vmware-private-ai-foundation-nvidia-%E2%80%93-technical-overview

Announcing VMware Live Recovery

VMware Live Recovery complements the features of VMware Cloud Foundation by providing advanced data resiliency and site protection capabilities. VMware Live Recovery combines two VMware solutions into a unified entry console, licensing model, and support structure:

• VMware Live Cyber Recovery (formerly VMware Cloud Disaster Recovery + VMware Ransomware Recovery)
• VMware Live Site Recovery (formerly VMware Site Recovery Manager)

vSAN HCI or vSAN Max – Which Deployment Option is Right for You?

In case you missed this tech zone article, it explains the ESA options for VVF and VCF: https://core.vmware.com/resource/vsan-hci-or-vsan-max-which-deployment-option-right-you

Greater Flexibility with vSAN Max through Lower Hardware and Cluster Requirements

Important updates have been made to hardware and cluster requirements for vSAN Max deployments. Read more here: https://core.vmware.com/blog/greater-flexibility-vsan-max-through-lower-hardware-and-cluster-requirements

Aria Automation March 2024 (8.16.2) – Private AI Automation Services for Nvidia

VMware by Broadcom introduced the initial availability of a new capability called Private AI Automation Services, powered by VMware Aria Automation (8.16.2) and VMware Cloud Foundation “Private AI Foundation for NVIDIA (PAIF-N).”

This integration offers Private AI Automation Services, a collection of features that enable Cloud Admins to quickly design, curate, and deliver optimized AI infrastructure catalog objects through Aria Automation’s self-service Service Broker portal.

Aria Automation March 2024 (8.16.2) – Cloud Consumption Interface (CCI) is Now Available on-premises

The Cloud Consumption Interface (CCI) is now available on-premises for VMware Cloud Foundation customers through Aria Automation, enabling them to leverage the benefits of VMware Private AI Foundation with NVIDIA without having to worry about infrastructure management. In addition, the CCI offers a simple and secure self-service consumption of all Kubernetes-based, desired state Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) APIs that are available in the vSphere platform.

https://core.vmware.com/blog/aria-automation-march-2024-8162-cloud-consumption-interface-cci-now-available-premises

It is available through a Kubernetes command-line kubectl plugin, and APIs, providing choices to enable enterprises to build and deploy modern applications efficiently and cost-effectively on vSphere while maintaining infrastructure governance and control.

The announcement can be found here: https://core.vmware.com/blog/aria-automation-march-2024-8162-cloud-consumption-interface-cci-now-available-premises

A lot of high-level and technical details can be found on tech zone: https://core.vmware.com/resource/data-modernization-vmware-data-services-manager

Data Services Manager 2.0.2 Release

Read more about the new capabilities here: https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Data-Services-Manager/2.0/data-services-manager/GUID-release_notes.html#whats-new-release-2.0.2

Cormac Hogan wrote a blog about this new DSM 2.0.2 release: https://cormachogan.com/2024/03/28/data-services-manager-v2-0-2-available-with-new-aria-automation-integration/

VMware ESXi 8.0 Update 2b Release Notes

The first important change with the ESXi 8.0 U2b release is:

Starting with vSphere 8.0 Update 2b, as part of the VMware vSphere Foundation Solution License, you can use up to 100 gibibytes (GiB) of included vSAN storage per host licensed core. For a capacity larger than 100 GiB per core, you must purchase vSAN capacity per tebibyte (TiB) and apply a vSAN license key that reflects the total raw storage capacity of the vSAN cluster.

The second highlight is the “new solution license for VCF and VVF”:

Starting with vSphere 8.0 Update 2b, you can use a solution license to license all components of VMware vSphere Foundation.

Solution License

General Availability of VMware Cloud Foundation 5.1.1

The VCF 5.1.1 release notes can be found here: https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Cloud-Foundation/5.1.1/rn/vmware-cloud-foundation-511-release-notes/index.html

These are the new included software components and versions:

• Cloud Builder VM 5.1.1
• SDDC Manager 5.1.1
• vCenter Server Appliance 8.0 U2b
• ESXi 8.0U2b
• NSX 4.1.2.3
• Aria Suite Lifecycle 8.16

Important:  VMware Cloud Foundation 5.1.1 has the option of deploying a single solution license key, which now includes a 60-day evaluation period and is detailed in this post.  

VCF Evaluation Mode

The latest release of VMware vSphere Foundation and VMware Cloud Foundation also supports a new “License Later” capability, which allows customers to deploy applicable VMware Cloud Foundation components while still in evaluation mode. After deployment, customers can switch to a fully licensed mode by simply adding the license keys in the SDDC Manager User Interface (UI) as a component license key or via the vSphere Client as a Solution License Key.

In other words, you can now deploy VMware Cloud Foundation with Cloud Builder and do not require any component licenses upfront! This makes evaluations/tests much easier.

VMware Cloud Foundation 5.x Posters

They are back! The blog and download link can be found here: https://core.vmware.com/blog/vmware-cloud-foundation-5x-posters

HCX 4.9

I would like to highlight the support for air-gapped environments coming with this new release.

In some environments, security policies require systems to be disconnected from internet access. Air-gap sites make no connections to VMware servers for exchanging information. HCX systems deployed in air gap mode do not participate in the HCX Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP). During the HCX activation, if the system detects that air-gap mode has been selected, no internet connections are established.

When customers build new data centers or private clouds, they are looking for a standardized blueprint that can be automated and is considered to be intrinsically secure. They are thinking like cloud service providers (CSP) and would like to deliver a private cloud with public cloud characteristics, where they can build their services (IaaS, CaaS, PaaS, DBaaS etc.) on top. If it is a private cloud stack that I have to take care of, I would like to have automation and built-in security as a design requirement, and it should be something that can be managed efficiently.

Monolithic Private Clouds and Modern Applications

It is very interesting to see that so many organizations talk about modern applications, but are still managing and maintaining what I would call a “monolithic” data center. I see customers talking about a modern infrastructure for their modern (or to be modernized) applications. Modern infrastructure means a public cloud for them.

The word “monolithic” describes that something is very large, united, and difficult to change. Something inflexible. Talking about monoliths, most people immediately think about static, solid, and big applications that need to be modernized to become smaller loosely coupled entities. Therefore, it surprises me that almost nobody talks about monolithic infrastructures or monolithic private clouds. Perhaps this has something to do with the mostly (still) monolithic applications which implies that these workloads are running on a legacy or monolithic infrastructure. That could be the mindset or illusion of enterprises that are starting with the modernization of the low-hanging fruits that can run in the public cloud.

Migration of monolithic applications to modern public clouds

There are so many cases, where organizations have no other choice than to lift and shift virtual machines from their data centers to Azure (aka modern cloud) let’s say, because of their contracts – because of their commitments. No innovation and the same business logic but for 10x the price.

We have seen it more and more over the past few months and years: It is not that easy to move workloads to the public clouds. In most cases, it takes longer than expected and organizations learn from other organizations, which allows them to adjust their plans and “journey to cloud” timeline.

So, what happens to the applications that have to stay in your private cloud, because you cannot or do not want to migrate them to the public cloud (or any other cloud in general)? Some of the applications are for sure still important, need to be lifecycled and patched, and some of them need to be modernized for you to stay competitive with the market and competitors.

What about a modern private cloud?

If you have the same vision and approach in mind, which is putting modern applications on a modern platform, what are the reasons for stopping and not investing in a more modern platform that can host your legacy apps, modern apps, and anything that might come in the future? Where do you deploy your AI-based workloads and data services if such applications/workloads and their data have to stay in your private cloud?

Cloud is an operating model, not an architecture or specific place.

What is the reason that you treat your on-premises cloud differently?

Changes at VMware by Broadcom

I hear and see comments about:

• the elimination of standalone products
• focus on two primary offerings (VMware Cloud Foundation and VMware vSphere Foundation)
• switch to subscription licensing

Yes, some of the changes are disruptive. Nevertheless, I believe it is a big step in the right direction.

No company or person in this world is perfect. There is always something or someone that you and I do not like about another person or a company. And that is okay!

Let us take the example of pricing.

If you do not get what you want, you feel frustrated. You feel let down and disappointed. In other words, if you get what you do not want, you are unhappy.

If you (exactly) get what you want, which would be a fair price from your standpoint, you still would be unhappy, because you can’t hold on to it forever.

What are you going to do about it? No vendor on this planet can and will give customers guarantees about future price developments. 

Strategy and Misadventures

I had a chat with the CTO of one of the biggest banks in the world back in December 2022. We were talking about regulations, public cloud concentration risk, application portability, and their defined cloud-exit triggers.

One of their metrics was about “cost increase“:

20% or greater price increase of a cloud provider’s service used by a production application over two consecutive quarters.

In 2023, Microsoft announced a Microsoft Cloud price increase of 9-15% in Europe:

taking into consideration currency fluctuations relative to the USD. […] and move to a pricing model that is most common in our industry.

The Microsoft Cloud continues to be priced competitively, and Microsoft remains deeply committed to the success of its customers and partners. We will continue to invest to enable customers to innovate, consolidate and eliminate operating costs, optimize business performance and efficiency and provide the foundation for a strong security strategy that customers around the world have come to rely on.

Note: This price increase affected services that charge based on usage, such as compute, storage, and networking. Every customer including those with a commitment and a discount in place had to pay the price increase.

What did this customer and many others do? They did not think about a cloud-exit trigger but were finding a way to offset these cost increases.

I think most of us are looking for an approach to put the right app in the right cloud based on the right reasons while not losing track of costs. And then we have the need to maximize performance and business benefits. Oh, and we have to consider regulations and (data) privacy as well.

What to expect from VMware by Broadcom?

Building or modernizing data centers or clouds is about automation and security, and speed can be considered the new security nowadays. Yes, the innovation engine was stalling a bit during the Broadcom acquisition.

But here is what is happening. Let us say that building a data center or in this case, a private cloud is like setting up a tent when camping:

• You have to select a location to accommodate the size of your tent.
• Lay out the fabric and sort through all the components to ensure everything is present and in good condition
• If it is a traditional tent with poles, you need to assemble them according to the instructions provided
• Then you have to place the tent fabric over the assembled poles and ensure the base is properly secured to the ground
• After that, you secure the tent by staking down the corners and guy lines to add stability in windy conditions
• Now that you know that the tent is stable and properly secured, it is time for final adjustments
• Everyone is happy, we can work on the interior setup and set up other camping gear inside as needed

There are two options to speed up and enhance this process:

1. Ask for help. Someone with experience who has done this before.
2. Buy an inflatable tent

The new VMware Cloud Foundation

Picture a self-inflating tent, where every component plays a crucial role in creating a seamless structure. Just like how the framework, fabric, and guy lines work together to make the perfect tent, in a data center, the compute, storage, and network components form a stack, each enhancing the performance, security, and connectivity of the system.

Overall, self-inflating tents offer a convenient, practical, and comfortable camping solution for adventurers of all levels.

This is what we can expect from the VCF division and from Broadcom’s CEO Hock Tan, who has promised “to invest an incremental $2 billion a year to better unlock customer value – with half focused on R&D and the other half focused on helping to accelerate the deployment of VMware solutions through VMware and partner professional services.” 

With the new VMware Cloud Foundation division under Broadcom, we see a strategic consolidation, where diverse expertise converges into a single force working on this self-inflating tent. By integrating the formerly disparate units, customers are going to profit from a better user experience and an enhanced set of products and services.