Learn how to integrate the VMAX All Flash with various VMware technologies
One of the great features of VMware SRM is the ability to run a test failover without impacting either the protection or recovery site. When using the SRDF SRA this means the replication between the R1 and the R2, whether asynchronous or synchronous, will not be broken. The SRA uses TimeFinder technology to accomplish this,... Continue Reading →
I've just completed the latest update to the VMAX/VMware TechBook, a tome (I can be derogatory since it's mine) of some 400 plus pages that explains how best to use VMware on the various VMAX/VMAX3/VMAX AFA arrays. You can find it here. When customers ask me about best practices, a link to this doc is... Continue Reading →
About a year ago I published a post on integrating vRealize Automation 7 (vRA) with VVols. At that time the implementation was really a manual process because VMware had not created a Storage Policy Based Management (SPBM) package for vRA 7, only version 6. In September of last year VMware finally updated the SPBM package... Continue Reading →
The SRDF Adapter Utilities (SRDF-AU) is a free, optional plug-in that provides a GUI interface to modify the XML files that are part of the SRDF SRA for VMware SRM and used primarily in testing. The SRDF-AU only runs on Windows and therefore requires that one of the vCenters in an SRM configuration is running on Windows.... Continue Reading →
I'm off the beaten path today courtesy of a friend and colleague in Chicago. We both used to work at Oracle so when he gives me a call it's typically not about my VMAX/VMware fare. In this case he had a customer who wanted to use SnapVX to instantiate a physical standby database, i.e. Data Guard.... Continue Reading →
VSI 7.1 is now available for download and while not a blockbuster on the VMAX front since we had ours with the 7.0 version, there are a couple minor updates and one new feature. Let's start with the minor changes. The first is that 7.1 adds support for the vSphere 6.5 Web Client. (vSphere 6.5 does... Continue Reading →
Our VVol implementation has been out for well over a year now and we've had our share of customers wanting to take the technology for a spin. When VMware first introduced support in vSphere 6 - what is known as VVol 1.0 and VASA 2.0 - they did not offer replication capabilities for array vendors.... Continue Reading →
Right before the holidays I was involved in some communication with a large customer of ours who is in the middle of a consolidation exercise. They have a bunch of vCenter/SRM setups with the SRDF SRA and are looking to reduce that number. It's a complicated process as you might imagine, particularly as there are many arrays... Continue Reading →
VMware just released Log Insight (LI) version 4.0. Generally for LI releases my posts are light because it never makes sense to me to elaborate extensively when Steve Flanders (@sflanders) owns this space. You can find his site at sflanders.net where he will go into all the details (over time with many posts) about 4.0 as he... Continue Reading →
