I got this question on the VMTN forum this week, does the Native Key Provider require a host to have a TPM? (Trusted Platform Module) The documentation does discuss the use of TPM 2.0 when you enable the Native Key Provider. Let’s be clear, the vCenter Server Native Key Provider does not require a TPM! If a TPM is available on each host then it will be used by the Native Key Provider to store a secret on, which enables us to encrypt and decrypt the ESXi configuration. Again, as stated, it is not a requirement to use a TPM. I have asked to get the documentation appended so that it is officially documented as well, just posting it here so that it indexed by google.
cloud
Unexplored Territory: A conversation with Kit Colbert, VMware’s new CTO
One of my goals for this year was starting the Unexplored Territory Podcast. A podcast however is only relevant when people bother to listen to it, as such I figured I would use my blog to promote the podcast for now. As you can imagine, we are hoping to grow our audience fast, and we can use all the help we can get. If you enjoyed the podcast, make sure to subscribe, like, and share the episode on all social platforms, and preferably with your colleagues and friends. You can find the podcast in your favorite podcast app by searching for “Unexplored Territory, or simply click one of the following links: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Stitcher, or Amazon Music. You can also listen to the episode by hitting play in the embedded player below.
In this episode, we talk to Kit Colbert. Kit was recently promoted to CTO within VMware. Kit talks about how he started as an intern and managed to find his way through the company to ultimately become the CTO. We also discuss various projects that were introduced at VMworld like Project Monterey, Project Capitola, and Project Santa Cruz. I hope you will enjoy this episode as much as we did recording it.
Does vSAN Enhanced Durability work when you have a limited number of hosts?
Last week I had a question about how vSAN Enhanced Durability works when you have a limited number of hosts. In this case, the customer had a 3+3+1 stretched cluster configuration, and they wondered what would happen when they would place a host into maintenance mode. Although I was pretty sure I knew what would happen, I figured I would test it in the lab anyway. Let’s start with a high-level diagram of what the environment looks like. Note I use a single VM as an example, just to keep the scenario easy to follow.
In the diagram, we see a virtual disk that is configured to be stretched across locations, and protected by RAID-1 within each location. As a result, you will have two RAID-1 trees each with two components and a witness, and of course, you would have a witness component in the witness location. Now the question is, what happens when you place esxi-host-1 into maintenance mode? In this scenario, vSAN Enhanced Durability will want to create a “durability component”. This durability component is used to commit all new write IO to. This will allow vSAN to resync fast after maintenance mode, and enhances durability as we would still have 2 copies of the (new) data.
However, in the scenario above we only have 3 hosts per location. The question then is, where is this delta component created then? As normally with maintenance mode you would need a 4th host to move data to. Well, it is simple, in this case, what vSAN does is it creates a “durability component” on the host where the witness resides, within the location of course. Let me show you in a diagram, as that makes it clear instantly.
By adding the Durability component next to the witness on esxi-host-3, vSAN enhances durability even in this stretched cluster situation, as it provides a local additional copy of new writes. Now, of course I tested this in my lab. So for those who prefer to see a demo, check out the youtube video below.
Joined GigaOm’s David S. Linthicum on a podcast about cloud, HCI and Edge.
A while ago I had the pleasure to join David S. Linthicum from GigaOm on their Voices in Cloud Podcast. It is a 22 minute podcast where we discuss various VMware efforts in the cloud space, edge computing and of course HCI. You can find the episode here, where they also have the full transcript for those who prefer to read instead of listen to a guy with a Dutch accent. It was a fun experience for sure, I always enjoy joining podcast’s and talking tech… So if you run a podcast and are looking for a guest, don’t hesitate to reach out!
Of course you can also find Voices in Cloud on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, and other platforms.
My recommended sessions for VMworld Europe 2019!
I created a list of recommended sessions for VMworld US, so I figured I would do the same for VMworld Europe. I am limiting it to 15 sessions for Europe and removed some of the sessions I had listed for the US and added some others for EMEA. I personally have 2 sessions scheduled at the moment, and they filled up rather fast in the US, so make sure to register early: HCI1870BE and HBI2186BE.
Okay, here’s my top 15 list, please note that this is pretty much in random order:
- 60 Minutes of Non-Uniform Memory Architecture [HBI2278BE] by Frank Denneman
This session got raving reviews in the US, I attended it personally and I can highly recommend it. That is if you think your brain can handle it… it is deep! - PowerCLI Deep Dive [HBI1729BE] by Luc Dekens and Kyle Ruddy
What can I say? These guys speak PowerCLI. They know it inside out, just make sure you are ready to go deep! -
VMware Cloud Foundation Deep Dive [HBI2044BE] by Jason Shaw
I am a big fan of full-stack HCI solutions, and in this session, Jason talks about what VMware Cloud Foundation brings to the table. - HCI Management: Current and Future [HCI1207BE] by JunChi Zhang and Christian Dickmann
Every year these guys bring some really cool demos and they expect you to provide feedback at the end of the session. So if you want to have a chance to influence vSAN/vSphere, attend this one! - Project Pacific Technical Overview: Unifying vSphere and Kubernetes [HBI4500BE] by Michael West and Jared Rosoff
There was a lot of buzz surrounding the announcement of Project Pacific. I managed to sit in one or two sessions in the US, and knowing Jared was the lead engineering on this project I suspect that this session may even go deeper than the ones I attended in the US. - The Virtually Speaking Podcast Live: The Future of Storage [HCI1894PE] by Pete Flecha, John Nicholson, and guests
I was a guest on the US in this session, it was a lot of fun. A lively discussion, and great questions from the audience on top of that. Plus, it is amazing to see Pete Flecha do the intro and outro live, I always thought that was pre-recorded! - The Cloud Backbone Network: A Paradigm Shift in Corporate WAN [OCTO1911BE] by Israel Cidon
I have seen a session on this topic by Israel at an internal conference and it was nothing short of mind-blowing. I would highly recommend attending this if you want to learn more about how we could potentially improve corporate WANs in the future by leveraging SD-WAN technology. Mind, this session is foreward looking! - Showcase Keynote: HCI – The Foundation for your Future-proof Infrastructure [HCI3551KE] by Cormac Hogan and John Gilmartin
I presented this session in the US with John, Cormac will be presenting it in Europe with John. I am sure it will be filled with great demos once again, and I will definitely try to attend this one in person - Leveraging the Latest Server Technologies in vSphere [HBI2362BE] by Niels Hagoort
This session wasn’t on my list for the US, but after watching the recording I feel it is worth attending in person! A good overview of what we are doing with the latest HW technologist in vSphere. - vSphere Virtual Volumes: Technical Deep Dive [HBI2853BE] by Jason Massae and Thiruvengada Govinda Thirumal
The adoption of vVols is growing fast, and it is for a good reason. Jason and Thiruvengada will explain in-depth what vVols is and how it works, and of course what the benefits are of adopting it. - Tech Preview of Site Recovery Manager with Virtual Volumes [HCI2894BE] by Stefan Tsonev and Velina Krasteva
The tech preview of SRM for vVols has been discussed various times, but in this session by Stefan and Velina it is also demonstrated. So if you are interested in disaster recovery solutions in combination with vVols then this is one to attend! - Meet the [ML] Driver of the Self-Driving Datacenter [MLA1904BE] by Jad El-Zein and Arun Annavarapu
At VMworld US Project Magna was unveiled, VMware’s effort to deliver the self-driving datacenter. A very interesting concept, which is explained in this session by Jad and Arun. I’ve seen some of the work, and it has a lot of potential, highly recommend attending this session! - Technical Deep Dive on Cloud Native Storage 1.0 [HCI2763BE] by Cormac Hogan and Myles Gray
Cormac and Myles are the Cloud Native experts in our business unit, and I can guarantee that this will be a great session filled with cool demos. - Optimizing vSAN for Performance [HCI1757BE] by Paudie ORiordan
If anyone can explain how to optimize vSAN, how to do benchmarking, and what to avoid… it is Paudie. On top of that, he is a great speaker and you can basically ask him anything on the topic of storage. Must see! - Innovations in vMotion: Features, Performance, and Best Practices [HBI1421BE] by Sreekanth Setty and Arunachalam Ramanathan
I watched this session in the US, it provides an excellent overview of the enhancements introduced for vMotion to improve vMotion (and switch over) times. They also talk about some enhancements coming in the near future. Very interesting stuff.
Scheduling opens up tomorrow (24th of September), so make sure to hit the portal early. I guarantee that many of the sessions above will be full in a matter of days. So don’t say I did not warn you in advance!