What’s new in vSphere 8.0: A Detailed Guide

The rising edge of multi-cloud deployment

In today’s “Workload Everywhere” era, increasing adoption and implementation of multi-cloud strategies by organizations is booming. Most simply, using a multi-cloud deployment strategy, an organization uses multiple cloud computing platforms and services from different vendors like AWS, VMware, Google, Azure, etc. rather than relying on a single provider. This can provide many benefits, including – avoiding vendor lock-in, cloud agility, 100% uptime, increased flexibility, improved reliability, ability to leverage the unique features and capabilities of different cloud providers. The trend of more and more organizations adopting this approach is as they seek to optimize their use of cloud computing resources. The below figure states the clear difference between cloud, hybrid cloud, and multi-cloud choices for any organization. 

[Source:https://www.globaldots.com/resources/blog/achieving-peak-orchestration-in-a-multi-cloud-environment/ ] 

Why is the Conventional Infrastructure paradigm not enough to sustain the Next Gen Workloads?

A greater total cost of ownership occurs while adding server capacity to fulfill the rising demand for varieties of infrastructure. To operate typical IT workloads, application-specific silos, such as GPU-based servers for AI/ML workloads, do not scale well. As a result, the architecture becomes rigid, which increases operational complexity. As demonstrated by recent low-level security attacks, the processing elements becomes a cause of a single point of failure in a converged area where workloads coexist with infrastructure services. 

Nowadays, many IT organizations are expected to provide consistent infrastructure consumption experiences across multi-clouds so that AI/ML applications may be developed, deployed, and maintained securely.  

 Now, can we increase workload performance while expanding infrastructure services across the company at an optimized cost? Can we provide IaaS directly to the organization’s development environments? Can we provide cloud features and benefits to the workload running on-premises seamlessly? Can we control on-premises infrastructure centrally to ease the maintenance workload? 

The answer to all questions is – Yes. We can achieve this by adapting the new release of VMware vSphere 8.0!!!! 

Unveiling - vSphere 8.0

Some of the salient features in vSphere 8.0 include: 

 1. Next Generation Infrastructure with vSphere Distributed Services Engine 

[Source: VMware IT Academy – ICM 8.0] 

vSphere 8.0 introduces SmartNIC also known as Data Processing Unit, a dedicated CPU resource for hardware acceleration to offload network and storage processing to get high throughput and low latency. That means NSX and Infrastructure services like storage and I/O control will run on DPU. As per benchmarking test carried out at VMware on DPU testing, it is found that Redis Server running on a DPU-enabled host gave 36% improved throughput and 27% less latency. [Source: https://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2022/08/introducing-vsphere-8-the-enterprise-workload-platform.html] 

2. Enterprise-Ready Kubernetes Runtime vSphere 8.0 is tightly integrated with Tanzu Kubernetes Grid 2.0: a second release that streamlines Kubernetes orchestration smoothly. This second edition of Tanzu Kubernetes Grid enables customers to operate efficiently while determining their parameters and incorporating customizations that fit their unique DevOps business needs. TKG 2.0 adds new flexibility and control for cluster creation, open-source API alignment, and improved application lifecycle management capabilities. With vSphere 8, DevOps teams can now access IaaS services (like provisioning VMs, networking, and setting up Tanzu Kubernetes Grid clusters) easily from the new Cloud Consumption Interface service. 

[Source:https://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2022/08/introducing-vsphere-8-the-enterprise-workload-platform.html] 

3.Multi-Cloud Workload Platform

Using a new offering called vSphere Plus introduced with vSphere 8.0 one can get all cloud features on premises that handle all kinds of workloads in the multi-cloud era. 

[Source:https://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2022/06/vmware-vsphereplus-introducing-the-multi-cloud-workload-platform.html] 

4. Support for larger virtual machines with up to 6TB of memory and 48 vCPUs 

5. We can run more complex AI / ML algorithms using NVIDIA GPU resources 

6. Support for up to 64 nodes in a vSphere cluster and support for up to 10,000 virtual machines per cluster 

How to Upgrade?

Here are the general steps you should follow to upgrade from vSphere 7 to vSphere 8: 

• Review the vSphere 8.0 release notes and system requirements to ensure that your hardware and software are compatible with vSphere 8.0. 
• Back up your vSphere 7 environments and create a disaster recovery plan in case something goes wrong during the upgrade process. 
• Download the vSphere 8.0 installation media and create a bootable USB or ISO image. 
• Upgrade the vCenter Server and all other vSphere components to vSphere 8.0. This process will typically involve installing vSphere 8.0 on a new server and then migrating your existing vSphere 7 configuration to the new server. 
• Upgrade the ESXi hosts in your vSphere environment to vSphere 8.0. This can typically be done by booting the ESXi hosts from the vSphere 8.0 installation media and following the prompts to upgrade the host. 
• Upgrade the virtual machines in your vSphere environment to vSphere 8.0. This can typically be done by booting the virtual machines from the vSphere 8.0 installation media and following the prompts to upgrade the virtual machine. 
• Test your vSphere 8.0 environment to ensure that everything is working as expected. 

It is important to carefully plan and execute the upgrade process to ensure a smooth transition to vSphere 8.0. You may want to consider enlisting the help of a VMware professional to assist with the upgrade if you are not comfortable performing it yourself. 

Dos and don'ts to consider when upgrading from vSphere 7.0 to vSphere 8.0

Dos: 

1. Review the vSphere 8.0 release notes and system requirements to ensure that your hardware and software are compatible with vSphere 8.0. 
2. Back up your vSphere 7.0 environment and create a disaster recovery plan in case something goes wrong during the upgrade process. 
3. Test the upgrade process in a non-production environment before performing it in production. 
4. Follow the recommended upgrade path and order of operations to ensure a smooth and successful upgrade. 
5. Test your vSphere 8.0 environment thoroughly after the upgrade to ensure that everything is working as expected. 

Don’ts: 

1. Don’t skip the pre-upgrade checks and planning process. Failing to properly prepare for the upgrade can lead to problems during and after the upgrade. 
2. Don’t upgrade to vSphere 8.0 if your hardware and software are not compatible. This can cause issues with performance and stability. 
3. Don’t upgrade to vSphere 8.0 if you are not comfortable with the upgrade process or do not have the necessary skills and resources. Enlist the help of a VMware professional if necessary. 
4. Don’t skip testing after the upgrade. It is important to test your vSphere 8.0 environment thoroughly to ensure that everything is working as expected. 
5. Don’t forget to update your documentation and procedures after the upgrade to reflect any changes in your vSphere environment. 

Training & Certification on vSphere 8.0

It is generally recommended that you receive training on vSphere 8.0 if you are responsible for administering or using vSphere in your organization. This can help you gain a thorough understanding of the new features and capabilities of vSphere 8.0, as well as best practices for using and managing the product. 

There are several options for vSphere 8.0 training, including instructor-led courses, online courses, and self-paced learning materials. VMware offers a range of vSphere 8.0 training options through its VMware Education Services division, including both online and in-person courses. 

It is also a good idea to keep up to date with new developments and best practices in the vSphere community, such as through online forums, blogs, and user groups. This can help you stay up to date with the latest features and capabilities of vSphere and learn from the experiences of other vSphere users.  

For more details visit us: https://www.cloudthat.com/training/vmware/vmware-vsphere-8 

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