VMware vSphere 7 – What’s new?

VMware has announced the general availability of vSphere 7, presenting it as the biggest evolution of vSphere in over a decade. Here’s a quick look at some of the exciting new capabilities that are prompting such claims.

Essentially, vSphere 7 has been re-architected into an open platform, using Kubernetes APIs to provide a cloud-like experience for developers and operators. The major focus is on security, efficiency and resilience, together with the provision of a responsive infrastructure that is easily accessible by development teams. The new features include:

• Improved lifecycle management: Using a desired state model, vSphere administrators can now create configurations once, apply them and continue to easily monitor them, protecting against configuration drift. vSphere administrators spend a significant amount of time on the lifecycle management of infrastructure and upgrading vSphere has previously involved many different activities and tools that required significant planning. Lifecycle management is now simpler and so are vSphere software patching and firmware upgrades
• Enhanced security: organisations can now intrinsically secure infrastructure, data, and access with a comprehensive, built-in architecture and a simple, policy-driven model delivered in vSphere 7. This new release introduces remote attestation for sensitive workloads using vSphere Trust Authority, meaning that vSphere administrators can conduct security checks on a few strongly trusted hosts, validating the operating system, firmware, credentials, etc. Additionally, it helps secure access and account management using identity federation with Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS).
• Application acceleration: a number of new features in vSphere 7 help to accelerate applications. For example, improvements have been incorporated into vMotion and DRS in order to provide much quicker operations as well as better performance/less disruption for very large VMs during the vMotion process. In addition, VMware has included Bitfusion (a company VMware acquired in 2019) in vSphere 7, so that it is able to take advantage of GPU virtualisation for the purposes of AI/ML use cases
• Kubernetes: last, but certainly not least, VMware has combined the capabilities of the traditional vSphere software with Kubernetes, which is of course one of the most popular platforms for modern applications. This fundamental change in the underlying engine driving the vSphere virtual infrastructure will allow vSphere 7 to be equally adept at running containers as well as virtual machines

Undoubtedly vSphere 7 is a major release that will appeal to both IT operations and developers alike. In particular, the complete re-architecting of vSphere around Kubernetes so that it is not a ‘bolt-on’ feature but rather a native capability within the new vSphere, is a massive step towards the future of application modernisation.

And there’s more good news with VMware announcing the availability of remote exam testing.

This will allow you to take vSphere 7, or indeed any VMware exam (with the exception currently of the VCAP Deploy lab-based exams), from any secure location. The integrity of the exam will be ensured through the use of features such as face-matching technology, virtual ID verification, session monitoring, browser lockdown, recording and more.

In order to take an exam remotely, you will need to have a web cam, show ID, have your camera scan the room, and be in a secure, quiet location. This is still a proctored exam, with a live proctor. As with in-person events, you will not be able to use any materials to take the exam.

The intention is that this will be a permanent offering, regardless of the availability of in-person testing centres going forward. And what’s more, the cost per exam remains the same.