VMware vSphere 5.0 have been launched since 12 July 2011 but the official GA still a missing date. For the past 1 week, my colleague or my friend keep ask about the VMware vSphere 5 Official GA date. Sorry I do not have the answer, please refer to VMware Inc.
Today, I just would like share something interesting that I found from one of the VMware document that probably tell us the answer.
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If you require to manage a different Virtual Data center with long distance and latency, now you can consider the alternative management tools beside viClient. vSphere 5 come with a new features call vSphere web client. Which allow you to perform the basic administration from the browser level. It does not allow users to launch the virtual machine console from the web client.
Below are some of the screen shot to share
Option to select vSphere web client for vSphere 5
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There are major change on the up coming version of Update Manager on vSphere 5. I was quite surprise with the change which I found out during the training today. In previous version, the update manager was able to provide patch update to virtual machine and ESX host. Which allow users to patch the virtual machine for both windows and Linux easily without require to purchase additional software management tools. With the new version of update manager, this capability had removed. It will only support the patch capability for ESX host level. You will no longer enjoy the benefits to perform patch update for virtual machine with Update Manager vSphere 5.
I was quite disappointing with this changes as I had used to the patch capability on virtual machines in the previous version. I will need to clarify further with the local representative about the changes on this.
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VMware had tried hard to push their existing customer to switch over to ESXi version since vsphere 4. With the up coming vSphere 5, there will no longer provide esx service console as it does in the previous version. vSphere 5 will only come with ESXi edition with leave the users no choice by adopting to it.
For users who plan for an upgrade in the near future or any new deployment, I will suggest you to deploy all your ESX host with ESXi for the ease of upgrade or migration. The upgrade process is pretty straight forward from version 4 to version 5 without any big hassle.
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After the surprise revise new License Scheme in vSphere 5, VMware had started to worry the decision of the so call FLEXIBLE offering to their client, which had received large numbers of users’ negative reaction for it. If you perform the calculation carefully, you will realize they require 30% more than what you use to pay previously, in some cases it could even double the software cost and maintenance cost you need to pay to VMWare for upgrading to vSphere 5.
While I read around a lot of the comment, I found this post from official VMware Website which try to SPIN the reader around.
Understanding the vSphere 5 vRAM Licensing Model
If you are experience virtualization users, you will realize whatever in post is purely to defend the decision been made and continue to spin the story around. He is right that they did not cap you the physical memory/CPU limit per server, but on VRAM. If you have a 2 CPU sockets server today with 10 Cores each and you want to run with 256GB memory per host or even higher number of memory, you will end up require 4 sockets Enterprise plus license to entitle for only 192 VRAM allocation to the virtual machines pool you have, and the rest of it is stay there for HA or so on. If you want to use more than that, please buy more license from VMWare. Old days with memory over commit and over provision are gone. as long as you do not have enough software licenses. Well, beside saying this, you may still able to use the memory over provision or over commit while there is HA kick in due to any physical host failure.
Honestly speaking, if VMWare are confident that customer will continue the journey with them, what is the point of telling public that the so call FLEXIBLE, NO LIMIT or any spinning story that could mislead the reader. There is an open market for every product in virtualization today, there will be users choose to go VMWare still and some may think to switch to others too.
I do not see any problem for the software company to create restriction on their software, but I do mind the mislead information could confuse the users and readers. Is still a choice of for user to decide whether it is worth to buy the product.
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