We have an announcement from VMware about vSphere 6.5. I will check this on VMware’s hand on labs (labs.hol.vmware.com) and try to synthesize it here. These labs a are sleek way to experience VMware products without the hassle of setting up everything in your personal lab.

vCenter Server Appliance Native Protection

This is one of the most awaited vCenter features. The previous method included manual re-configuration and/or a load balancer, the new way seems to simplify this by creating an  HA Cluster

Another neat improvement is that now the user interface is entirely HTML, with no dependencies on flash or having a Windows VM handy to run the vSphere C# client. I am not sure I would ever stop using it, I am an old UNIX engineer that uses df -k instead of -h.

The VUM (VMware Update Manager) is integrated with the vCenter Server Appliance, again removing the need for an extra Windows Server. The VUM enables centralized, automated patch and version management for vSphere.

The Content Library (check my post here) added the capability of mounting an ISO to the VM directly from the library. I will have to re-visit my Content Library post because I’ve had more requests from clients to use this feature. You could even create a new VM from a template in the Content Library. It can also be synchronized between vCenter servers over HTTP.

The SIOC (Storage IO Control) can be configured in the storage policies and applied to the VM. With this, you can define IO limits, reservations, and shares that can be assign to VMs through the storage policy.

The HTML5 Host Client is a new product designed to replace the functionality of the C# client. You can monitor resources and review logs  with it.

And last but not least you can set up a KM (Key Management) server in the vCenter to use it to encrypt your VMs. I know I know, everything involving certificates is more complicated, but lately, it’s just a necessity if you don’t want to fall victim to vulture groups looking to make a quick buck encrypting your data.