vSphere 5.

0
New Features Workshop
Presented by Braun Martin
DSA Technologies

vSphere 5 The Foundation

for Your Cloud

Most organizations are really midway their

virtualization journey - yet many believe that they

are finished or nearly done

Easy systems have been virtualized, what about

mission critical systems? Clusters?

SQL/Oracle/Exchange?

What is your State of Scalability and Self Service?

What is on Task for 2012?

What is vSphere 5.0 All About?

VMware vSphere
Market Leading Virtualization Platform yet again

vSphere 5 is all about internal scale and cloud management

More Tools

More Security

More granularity

More Remote Capabilities

Many Components were Rewritten

What was rewritten to unlock IT as a Service?

The kernel was rewritten to allow up to 32 vCPUs

per VM and 1TB of RAM

As everyone probably knows, 5.0 is ESXi only. No more agents

so if you have them prepare to swap out applications
High priority VMs have been given more control over server,
network, and storage performance resources

Performance Guarantees
Network and Storage I/O Control
3. w/
I/O controls,
2. Other
VMs can
givestarved
VIP VMs
are
preferential
access
for resources

1. VM requests
more resources

Overview

 Set up SLAs for use of storage and

network resources
 Added per virtual machine settings
for Network I/O Control
 Added NFS support for Storage I/O
Control

Benefits

 Eliminate the noisy neighbor problem

 More granular SLA settings for network
traffic

 Extend Storage SLAs to more VMs

Many Components were

Rewritten Cont.
Network stack was rewritten. What do I mean by
Rewritten? Lets spend some time here. For starters:

FCOE is now here, selection box next to iSCSI

Load Balancing was rewritten. We now have vMotion

over multiple NICs and can now span up to 4 pipes of

10GB Ethernet.

Since load lalancing was rewritten, there are a few side

effects here but in the end it is a good thing. How good?

I am glad you asked:

VMFS 5 and
Load Balancing iSCSI
A little Case Study:

Customer was getting around 140MBps on iSCSI in vSphere

4.1 through bonded ethernet

Upgraded to 5.0 and was suddenly only getting around 107.

System wasnt passing traffic on all lanes due to change in RoundRobin
mechanics

We modified the configuration of the Load Balancer and

retested.

The Customer can now saturate Ethernet at over 220MBps for

iSCSI traffic. Not too shabby

1000 Words

Yes, that is 3570 IOPS from 1 Equallogic PS4000X

with sixteen drives

Now, how do you get this fabulous performance???

Wow, it really is a workshop

Once you get to vSphere 5, make the following

changes. Or better yet, let us make them for you:

To do the following on the esxi host. You must enable the service console first:
# Set multipathing policy to round robin for all equallogic storage.
for i in `esxcli storage nmp device list | grep ^naa.609`;
do esxcli storage nmp device set -P=VMW_PSP_RR d=$i;
done;
# Modify roundrobin path selection policy to swith paths after each IO. Default
setting is 1000 IO. This change increased IOPs and throughput by nearly
60%
for i in `esxcli storage nmp device list | grep ^naa.609`;
do esxcli storage nmp psp roundrobin deviceconfig set -I=1 -t=iops -d=$i;
done;

Once That is Done, then:

Log in to the vSphere Client and select the host.

Navigate to the the Configuration tab.
Select Storage Adapters.
Select the iSCSI vmhba to be modified.
Click Properties.
Modify the delayed ACK setting using the option that best matches your site's needs, as follows:

Modify the delayed ACK setting on a discovery address (recommended).






Modify the delayed ACK setting on a specific target.






Select the Static Discovery tab.

Select the target.
Click Settings.
Click Advanced.

Modify the delayed ACK setting globally.




On a discovery address, select the Dynamic Discovery tab.

Select the Server Address tab.
Click Settings.
Click Advanced.

Select the General tab.

Click Advanced.

In the Advanced Settings dialog box, scroll down to the delayed ACK setting.
Uncheck Inherit From parent.
Uncheck DelayedAck.
Reboot the host.

There is More to
Networking than Storage, Right?
Other new Network functions added

vMotion capability now enhanced, more on that later

QoS 802.1P tagging now supported.

QoS

is now end to end on the wire

Discovery Protocols have been added

CDP

LLDP

Port Mirror has been added

This is the capability on a network switch to send a copy of
network packets seen on a switch port to a network monitoring
device connected on another switch port.

Now back to
Rewritten Components

Storage Engine was rewritten. VMFS 5 is here and is

optimized for a 64 bit environment:

Large pools with fixed block size. No longer has to go with an 8MB block
to get large files.

Single Extent size grows to 60TB

Better File Locking mechanism to allow for better access to small files
too by keeping them in metadata format

Best of all, going from VMFS 3 to 5 is transparent and can be

done on the fly

Worst of all, still only supports 256 LUNS and any one VMDK
can only be 2TB.

Storage Profiles are now here with Storage DRS

This is like QoS for Storage objects.

DataStores are now run as DataStore Clusters

Storage Profile (DRS) Operation

1.
2.
3.

Initial Placement of VMs and VMDKS based on available space

and I/O capacity.
Load balancing between datastores in a datastore cluster via
Storage vMotion based on storage space utilization.
Load balancing via Storage vMotion based on I/O metrics, i.e.
latency.

Storage DRS also includes Affinity/Anti-Affinity Rules

for VMs & VMDKs;

VMDK Affinity Keep a VMs VMDKs together on the same

datastore. This is the default affinity rule.
VMDK Anti-Affinity Keep a VMs VMDKs separate on different
datastores
Virtual Machine Anti-Affinity Keep VMs separate on different
datastores

Affinity rules cannot be violated during normal

operations.

Profile-Driven Storage
Storage DRS
Overview

 Tier storage based on performance

High IO
Throughput

Tier 1

characteristics (i.e. datastore cluster)

 Simplify initial storage placement
 Load balance based on I/O

Tier 2

Tier 3

Benefits

 Eliminate VM downtime for storage

maintenance
 Reduce time for storage
planning/configuration
 Reduce errors in the selection and
management of VM storage
 Increase storage utilization by optimizing
placement

Setting up Storage DRS

Storage DRS Operations

Initial Placement
Initial Placement - VM/VMDK create/clone/relocate.
When creating a VM you select a datastore cluster rather than an
individual datastore and let SDRS choose the appropriate datastore.
SDRS will select a datastore based on space utilization and I/O load.
By default, all the VMDKs of a VM will be placed on the same
datastore within a datastore cluster (VMDK Affinity Rule), but you
can choose to have VMDKs assigned to different datastore clusters.
2TB

datastore cluster

500GB 500GB 500GB 500GB

datastores
300GB 260GB 265GB 275GB
available available available available

SDRS Affinity Rules

Why this is now more DB Friendly
Datastore Cluster

VMDK affinity
 Keep a Virtual

Datastore Cluster

VMDK anti-affinity
 Keep a VMs VMDKs

Machines VMDKs

on different

together on the same

datastores

datastore

 Maximize VM
availability when all
disks needed in order
to run

 On by default for all

VMs

 Useful for separating

log and data disks of
database VMs

 Can select all or a

subset of a VMs disks

Datastore Cluster

VM anti-affinity
 Keep VMs on different
datastores

 Similar to DRS antiaffinity rules

 Maximize availability
of a set of redundant
VMs

So what does it look like?

Provisioning

VAAI Additions Too

Without the VAAI NAS primitives, only Thin format is

available.

With the VAAI NAS primitives, Flat (thick), Flat preinitialized (zeroed-thick) and Thin formats are
available.
Non VAAI

VAAI

Even More
Components Redesigned

vSphere Firewall (vShield) has been redesigned and is not

based on IP Tables

VMware virtual hardware updated

Now

supports 3D acceleration, particularly nice for VDI projects

Mac OS X support

At

least the CFO will be happy now.

Resource pools redesigned

Now

identified vMotion events and properly assigns the VM to the

proper pool on initial move, no more waiting for DRS to clean up
afterwards.

Better Resource Pools

Resource Pool improvements focus on consistency and

usability

Resource Pool management is now consistent for clustered
and non-clustered hosts being managed by vCenter Server

In the past resource pool settings were stored on the hosts when not part of a
cluster and in vCenter once placed in a cluster
Led to confusion as behavior was different for non-cluster and cluster hosts
In 5.0 Resource Pool settings are now stored in vCenter for both non-clustered
hosts and clustered hosts
This also enables support for Auto Deploy hosts running in a standalone/nonclustered mode

Now prevents direct host access to resource pool settings

when host managed by vCenter Server

Attempts to modify Resource Pool settings outside of vCenter are now blocked
In the past host level changes would appear to succeed only to be
ignored/overridden by vCenter leading to confusion
UI now shows if a host is being managed through vCenter or managed locally
(direct access)

Now Introducing the

Integrated CLI

New CLI is fully integrated with cloud concepts i.e.

Where am I is defined through identity vs. syntax

Different

security structure for local vs. remote systems

New esxcli command in 5.0

Used for both local and remote management of ESXi hosts

Directory-like layout of commands intuitive/user friendly
Installed on host console and via vCLI package or vMA

Works with vicfg- commands

vicfg- commands continue to augment esxcli

vicfg- is limited to remote management only (vCLI or vMA)

localcli Commands

Intended for use by VMware Technical Support

ESXi Command Line Structure

esxcli

fcoe

hardware

iscsi

license

network

Namespaces

software

storage

system

vm

ESXi Command Line - Cont.

esxcli

fcoe

hardware

iscsi

fence

license

firewall

Network

software

ip

vswitch

storage

nic

system

vm

vCenter Enhancements

Yes, it can now be run as an appliance

Simplified Setup and Configuration

Enables Deployment Choices

Leverages vSphere availability features for the protection of
the management layer

New Web Interface

Its the web so run it from Anywhere

Replaces Web Access GUI

Manage your Cloud from the Cloud!

Enhancement for the

Standard Client Too

You want metrics? It has them, more than ever before

vMotion or Why we sold the

CFO on Virtualization

As previously mentioned, vMotion is significantly enhanced

Multi-NIC Support




Support up to four 10Gbps or sixteen 1Gbps NICs (ea. NIC must have it's own
IP)
Single vMotion can now scale over multiple NICs (load balance across
multiple NICs)
Faster vMotion times and allows for a higher number of concurrent vMotions

Reduced Application Overhead

Slowdown During Page Send (SDPS) feature throttles busy VMs to reduce
timeouts and improve success
 Ensures less than 1 Second switchover time in almost all cases


Support for higher latency networks ( up to ~10ms)



Extend vMotion capabilities over slower networks

Storage vMotion Improvements too

Storage vMotion will work with Virtual Machines that

have snapshots, which means coexistence with other

VMware products & features such as VCB, VDR & HBR.

Storage vMotion will support the relocation of linked

clones.

Storage vMotion has a new use case Storage DRS

which use Storage vMotion for Storage Maintenance

Mode & Storage Load Balancing (Space or Performance).

Storage vMotion Cont.

In vSphere 4.1, Storage vMotion uses the Changed Block Tracking

(CBT) method to copy disk blocks between source & destination.

The main challenge in this approach is that the disk pre-copy

phase can take a while to converge, and can sometimes result

in Storage vMotion failures if the VM was running a very I/O
intensive load.

Mirroring I/O between the source and the destination disks has

significant gains when compared to the iterative disk pre-copy

mechanism.

In vSphere 5.0, Storage vMotion uses a new mirroring architecture

to provide the following advantages over previous versions:

Guarantees migration success even when facing a slower destination.

More predictable (and shorter) migration time.

Its all good, how bout the

New Licensing?

Licensing looks trickier than it really is, most

customers will still strictly buy the feature set they

need

vRAM doesnt come into it for 90% of customers

vRAM is calculated on a per socket basis.

Here is the table in case you missed it:

vSphere 4.1 and prior

Per CPU with Core and Physical
Memory Limits

vSphere 5.0 and later

Per CPU with
vRAM Entitlements

Licensing Unit

CPU

CPU

SnS Unit

CPU

CPU

Core per proc

Physical RAM
capacity per host

Restrictions by vSphere editions

6 cores for Standard and Enterprise, Ess, Ess+
12 core for Advanced and Ent. Plus

<

Unlimited

<

Unlimited

Restrictions by vSphere edition

256GB for Standard, Advanced and Enterprise. Ess,
Ess+
Unlimited for Enterprise Plus

Entitlement by vSphere edition

vRAM entitlement per

proc

Pooling of entitlements

Max amount of vRAM

per VM counted
Compliance policies
Monitoring tool

Not applicable

Not applicable

<

32GB vRAM for Essentials Kit

32GB vRAM for Essentials Plus Kit
32GB vRAM for Standard
64GB vRAM for Enterprise
96GB vRAM for Enterprise Plus

YES vRAM entitlements are pooled

among vSphere hosts managed by a
vCenter or linked vCenter instance
96GB a powered on VM will count

Not applicable

Purchase in advance of use

High Watermark
Not applicable

for a maximum of 96GB against the

pool regardless of its actual configured
amount

Purchase in advance of use

12 months rolling average of daily high
watermark
YES built-into vCenter Server 5.0

What Version Do I Need

Eye Chart

How Do I get to vSphere 5?

First step is to upgrade vCenter

Have a backup before you start!

If you are on 3.5 or 4.0, you must do a fresh install

Like 4.1 vCenter 5 must be run on a 64 bit system

If you are running 4.1 then there is an upgrade path but
chances are you are better off with a fresh install

There is a Wizard for the install, when you go

through it make sure you account for any near term

desktop or VDI deployments when sizing the
environment. This will automatically give the system
additional ports and a larger JVM footprint.

Next Steps

After vCenter and Update Manager are upgraded,

connect to the new webpage and update the client.

This is as easy as it gets.

Once completed install the Web Interface Client for

vCenter if you want it. And yes, you want it.

Now get ready for the ESXi host upgrade by

migrating machines off it, etc.

ESXi Host Upgrade

As with vCenter, only 4.1 has a upgrade path.

Otherwise you must do a fresh install. Remember,

5.0 is ESXi only so if you have agents or custom
scripts prepare for that change

We highly recommend that you get all your firmware
and BIOS updated on the host before you start

If you are on 4.1 you will have 3 choices. Upgrade
and preserve, Install and preserve, or Install and
overwrite.

VMFS 3 and 5 Compatibility

If you choose to preserve, remember to go back later

and convert from VMFS 3 to 5. This will take a while

but is nondisruptive.

Otherwise overwrite what is there. For some reason,

we havent figured this out yet, the install takes

longer than 4.1 but isnt too bad.

Once the host is upgraded you can move the VMs

back

Last but not least

Now that vCenter, Update Manager, Web Interface,

Client Software, and the Host have been updated, you

can start on the Virtual Machines themselves. Yes, this
will require a power off of the guests.

If you dont want to take the hit of a power off right away

you dont have to. vSphere 5 will run 4.x clients with no
problem

When upgrading the VMs the virtual hardware and the

VMware Tools will both need to be updated.

Update Manager can orchestrate both of these updates at

the same time.

What Else is out There?

VMware Storage Appliance

Its kind of like having a SAN without the SAN

Site Recovery Manager (SRM)

Better, Faster, Easier and Cheaper than before

vCenter Operation Manager

vCloud Director

Its your own manager for the Cloud

View

3D Graphics DirectX and OpenGL

Cacheing for better performance

Better bandwidth management

PCoIP Optimization Controls

More control of user experience performance requirements
Overview

 Default CODEC optimization for fonts

 New protocol settings configurable in GPO
 Client Side Caching on or off
 Build to lossless on or off
 Settings configurable via GPO
Benefits






More bandwidth efficient out-of-the-box

Can reduce bandwidth up to 75%
Increased scalability over WAN
Higher user density on WAN links

Recap

vSphere 5x is here Prepare for the following:

Massive scale
Organizations must plan for the cloud, private or other
Business critical systems must be ready or be made ready
Business policies must adapt
Flexibility and self service is the future
With more to manage, start to manage it better now
Inform, update, and adjust to real-time conditions. You can
only go to the well so often. Make them count

Thank You

Additional questions, please email:

Braun Martin
bmartin@dsatechnologies.com
or
Jeff Rogers
jrogers@dsatechnologies.com