Gros changements chez Vmware (annoncés hier)
 
- C'est la fin de ESX
- Esxi est remplacé par Vsphere hypervisor
- Vmotion est dorenavant integré d'office dans Essantial + et standard
 
 
vSphere 4.1 Launch Frequently Asked Questions
(Partner/Field)
vSphere 4.1 Features and Enhancements
 
What are the top features and enhancements with the 4.1 release?
• Storage I/O Control – Set quality of service priorities to guarantee access to a storage resource
• Network I/O Control - Set quality of service priorities to guarantee access to a network resource
• Memory Compression – Further enhances VMware’s memory overcommit functionality (a key
differentiator against the competition) to reclaim application performance
• vMotion Performance and Scale – 5X performance improvement and now enabling up to 8
vMotion live migrations between vSphere hosts (when run in 10GbE environment)**
• “Cloud Scale” – Enabling more VMs and Host per vCenter Server than ever before! 99% of the
vSphere customer base could now their entire environment underneath 1 vCenter Server**
**Final numbers available closer to launch
 
How do I find out which features are applicable to the SMB segment and the Enterprise
segment?
VMware has produced two new “what’s new” documents that focus on each of these market
segments. These pieces of collateral can be found on the vSphere page of partner central
(resources tab).
 
Can customers upgrade from VI 3.5 or vSphere 4.0 to vSphere 4.1?
Yes, VMware offers upgrades to vSphere 4.1 from both versions. Additional information can be
found on the vSphere Upgrade Center.
 
Why is VMware recommending customers deploy vSphere 4.1 with the ESXi hypervisor
architecture?
VMware believes the ESXi hypervisor architecture is the best choice for customers. VMware is
also stating that as of the vSphere 4.1 release and its subsequent update and patch releases that
these will be the last releases to include both ESX and ESXi hypervisor architectures (a
deployment time choice). Future major releases of VMware vSphere will include only the
VMware ESXi hypervisor architecture.
For details about the ESXi hypervisor architecture and how to transition from ESX to ESXi, please
visit the ESX to ESXI Upgrade Center.
 
What is the vSphere Hypervisor?
The vSphere Hypervisor is the new name for the “free” version of ESXi current up on
vmware.com and more formally known as the ESXi single server. This name change only impacts
that free download and all other mentions to ESXi moving forward will be only in reference to
the hypervisor architecture as part of the vSphere platform (paid product).
 
Are there any other terminology changes partners should be aware of with this release?
VMware’s market leading live migration technology known as VMotion in previous releases will
be changed slightly to vMotion. This small name change will also apply to Storage vMotion.
vSphere 4.1 Pricing, Packaging, and Licensing
 
Are there any terminology changes related to packaging with the 4.1 release?
VMware vSphere is aligning its product packaging around the concept of kits and editions. Kits are
all-in-one packages that have software for the vSphere hosts plus centralized management. Kits
have entitlements for more than 1 CPU to be used across several hosts. Editions are more targeted
at the mid-size and enterprise class customer as they can scale beyond the limits of the kits and are
sold per CPU on a host. Editions also require a separate purchase of the vCenter Server in order to
take advantage of advanced vSphere functions.
 
What is staying the same with the vSphere 4.1 release (pricing, packaging, and licensing)?
• vSphere will continue to be sold on a per processor basis
• vCenter Server (required for vSphere platform) will continue to be sold on a per instance basis
• Most entitlements, policies, and structures put into place with vSphere 4.0
 
What is changing with the vSphere 4.1 release (pricing, packaging, and licensing)?
• Downstream feature movement between editions/kits – vMotion, Multipathing API
• Adding new 4.1 features/functions per edition/kits
• Substantial price decrease for vSphere Essentials kit
• Slight price increase for vSphere Standard edition and Essentials Plus kit only
 
Why is VMware moving vMotion “downstream” to the Essentials Plus kit and the vSphere
Standard edition?
VMware was first to market with vMotion (live migration for virtual machines with zero disruption)
in 2003. Since that time this ground breaking technology has been widely adopted and is currently in
use by over 80% of the VMware vSphere install base (source – VMware customer intelligence
dashboard Q2 2010). Given this usage and based on customer feedback, VMware has decided to
offer this same functionality to its small and medium business customers through both its Essential
Plus kit and the vSphere standard edition as of the 4.1 product release (in addition to the other
vSphere editions where vMotion is already available). For a low entry cost, users can now leverage a
new level of availability in both new and existing vSphere environments. A server maintenance
window is now a non-disruptive event for SMB customers as virtual machines can be live migrated
to other hosts so there is zero downtime for the end user.”
 
Isn’t VMware doing as a response to Microsoft and the introduction of live migration into
Hyper-V for free?
No, VMware is focused on providing enhanced value to the SMB customer. Also, it still remains the
case that Hyper-V is not free and that its live migration technology is not the same as what VMware
offers with vMotion. For example, the vSphere 4.1 release enables the simultaneous migration of up
to 8 virtual machines at the same time. Hyper-V live migration can only handle 1 migration at a time.
 
Why are the prices for the Essentials Plus kit and the Standard edition going up starting 8/1?
Both of these packages now offer vMotion and therefore deliver more value than ever before to
customers. Also, keep in mind that Essentials Plus is still a low cost offer at under $600 per CPU for
our core platform along with HA, Data Recovery, and vMotion. Standard is under $1000 per CPU.
VMware offers more low cost entry points than ever before with the vSphere Hypervisor ($0 per
CPU) and a significant reduction in the price of the Essentials kit (now under $100 per CPU).
 
Can customers upgrade to a higher kit or edition with vSphere 4.1?
Yes, VMware will continue to offer the same paths for upgrade of editions plus add more options for
upgrading between kits and editions.
 
Are Acceleration Kits available with this release?
Yes, VMware is offering its core acceleration kits (advanced, mid-size, and enterprise) and will
announce new acceleration kits as they become available.
 
L'offre promotionnelle est prolongée:
http://www.vmwareyourtime.com/fr/? [...] ujourd-hui

et t'en penses quoi ?

coté marketing: l'offre va être plus clair.
coté offre: vmotion intégré dans les bundle, je trouve ça pas mal du tout.
C'est une release, pas une révolution. Mais l'integration de vmotion change les choses (les PME sont devenues clairement le coeur de cible de vmware)

c'est comme d'hab : la taille critique a été atteinte avec les grandes et très grandes entreprises, il faut maintenant vendre dans les entreprises plus petites

C'est surtout que le marchés des grandes entreprises est aujourd'hui quasi acquis a VMWare, mais que dans celui des PME ils se font bouffer par MS.
Et malheureusement, toute ces petites bases installées d'hyperV commencent à doner de la crédibilité au produit pour les grands comptes.
Il faut tuer la poule dans l'oeuf ...

Ca change quoi concrètement pour ceux qui ont déja acquis ESX ?

   
Cf. ci dessus

Sont chiants de changer de nom pour changer de nom...

c'est un peu plus que ca.
C'est annoncer l'avenir :
L'abandon de ESX au profit de ESXi -> faciliter d'ajout de noeud, faisable par un opérateur -> coute moins cher
Facturation de la licence VMWare à la VM -> indépendamment du nombre de host / de l'ampleur de l'infra -> facilité de refacturation pour les opérateurs
 
Je pense que c'est l'un des plus gros chagement que VMWare ait pu faire, en tout cas, ils préparent le terrain avant d'abattre leurs cartes.

En gros:
 
Technique:
Amélioration de la gestion des VM (et simplification de cette gestion). Amélioration de la gestion du stockage, de la mémoire et du réseau et des perf de Vmotion (x5).
 
Commercial:
Simplification de l'offre et focalisation sur le marché PME (avec une baisse substentielle des tarifs pour elles tout en ayant plus d'options).
 
Veuillez lire (voir utiliser des outils de traduction) avant de dénigrer.

Ces quelques améliorations techniques ne sont pas l'essentiel.
Le VMotion n'intéresse que quelques techos.
Les dirigeants s'en cognent. Les points que je cite, par contre ...
Pour les PME, c'est clairement de la fidélisation, et c'était inévitable (merci la concurrence).

J'ai installé vmware ESXi 4.1 et il me donne 60 jours d'utilisation.
Est-ce à dire que ESXi n'est plus gratuit du tout ?
Quid pour ceux qui ne veulent faire que du test pour des aides stagiaires et étudiants ?

Ces 60 jours d'évaluation te donnent droit à pas mal de fonctionnalités, mais si tu veux la version gratuite, il faut générer une clé de license sur le site (c'est gratuit). Cette clé de licence te donnera une licence complète mais avec des fonctionnalités manquantes (SNMP, VMotion, etc.)

C'est clair, en même temps je pense qu'il s'en cogne tout cours de Vsphere et de son update 4.1 ou de l'ajout de noeuds
Et je ne vois surtout pas le dirigeant venir lire mon post :  [Vmware] du nouveau et des changements importants Vsphere 4.1Recherche

Je sais, mais c'etait juste pour mettre en avant le fait que l'update en 4.1 est plus un update commercial/politique que rééllement technique.
 
La technique est là, et évolue naturellement, mais ce n'est pas l'intérêt majeur.