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5.1

Match VMware vCenter 5.1 Component Versions

With the separation of the vCenter Service into 4 components in vSphere 5.1 (vCenter Single Sign On, vCenter Inventory Service, vCenter Server and vSphere Web Client) there is a possible issue that you could have mismatched services installed. When you install an update you have to install all components one after another without having a workflow to check that all have been updated. I have already written about the update process from 5.1 to 5.1u1 and their versions but this is not the only update available. Now I've created an overview of all possible vCenter 5.1 version numbers that can be identified in the Control Panel.

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Building a VSA with Open-E DSS V7 inside ESXi

When you run a VMware platform there is usually no way around a shared storage system. A SAN is very expensive and you throw away the opportunity of using local storage. Common usage of ESXi hosts and storage Systems on x86 hardware also leads to a dilemma: Standard Servers usually have plenty of CPU, Memory and local Disks. With ESXi Hosts you waste the local storage and with storage systems you waste CPU and Memory. Combining both on the same hardware leads to an efficient usage that has the option to scale automatically. Today there are already some vendors in the market that provide SAN-free solutions with high available replicated local storage. This howto shows you how to share local storage by installing Open-E DSS V7 as a VSA inside an ESXi host using local storage with RDM.

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Howto Update vCenter Server from 5.1 to 5.1 Update 1

About 6 months after the release of VMware vSphere 5.1 the first Update is available since this weekend. As you know, the vCenter Server has been split into 4 services: Single-Sign On, Inventory Service, vCenter Server and the vSphere Web Client. That makes the update process a little bit more more complex. Here is a small Walk-though how to Update to vSphere 5.1.0 U1

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vSphere Web Client vs. vSphere Client (C# Client)

Since VMware introduced the vSphere Web Client there is a common question: Which vSphere client should I use? The answer simple: You need both! 

There are many new features within vSphere 5.1 which are only available through the Web Client. But there are also many reasons to use the old C# Client: Some features and plugins are not implemented in the Web Client Client. There is no doubt that you need both clients to configure your vSphere 5.1 environment. But which client should you use for day-to-day work or for configuration tasks that are available in both clients?

This post has been updated to include vSphere 5.5 Features

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Howto: vCenter 5.1 SSO with trusted Active Directory

There are a lot of pitfalls when you want to deploy or update to VMware vSphere 5.1. Beside the vSphere Web Client, the most discussed new component is the new authentication engine called Single Sign On (SSO) which is mandatory for the vCenter Server. I've already written about a simple deployment scenario where a vCenter Server (Appliance or Installable) can be authenticated against a single Active Directory domain. In this post i am going to explain the changes and straits when using multiple trusted Active Directory Domains.

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Howto: SSO - Simple AD Authentication with VMware 5.1

With vSphere 5.1 a new component called Single-Sign-On (SSO) has been introduced. The new SSO service is mandatory since 5.1. There is no way around, you have to use it. The good thing about it is that it has various authentication options and can be deployed in an redundant fashion. Unfortunately it adds a lot of complexity to your configuration but if you understand all of it's components and functions, you won't  miss it.

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VMware Licensing Considerations #1 - Perpetual vs. VSPP

Software licensing is one of the most confusing part within the IT industry. Since virtualization has become wildly popular things are getting worse. Some application software vendors require cpu socket based licensing, which is fair for physical hardware but inappropriate for software running inside virtual machines. With the latest changes VMware has really fair and understandable licensing models. Today i am going to compare the the two license models perpetual and VSPP (VMware Service Provider Program). To make the models comparable i will consider vSphere Enterprise Plus Licenses only, without any additional products, except VMware vCloud Director.
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