Update on new VMware plug-ins for HPE storage

[StorageExperts]

Recently we launched new versions of our VMware plug-ins. This release brings some new features and a licensing change that I would like to highlight. I would also like to take this opportunity to give you a brief overview of our plug-in portfolio that helps provide simplified management for VMware admins.

One important thing I would like to feature right off the bat is our entire storage plug-in portfolio for VMware is now 100% completely free and fully functional. Prior to this release, most of our plug-ins were freely available with the exception of the plug-in for vRealize Operations Manager which required a paid license. Now you can use and deploy any of our plug-ins as much as you want to gain the best possible management experience for VMware.

HPE OneView for VMware vCenter (OV4VC)

HPE OneView for VMware vCenter is a free plug-in for VMware's vCenter management console which enables vSphere administrators to quickly obtain context-aware information about HPE servers and HPE storage in their VMware vSphere environment directly from within vCenter. The OV4VC storage plug-in supports 3PAR, MSA and StoreVirtual arrays, Nimble arrays come with their own built-in plug-in for vCenter.

What’s new in OV4VC 9.1 (storage):

• New integrated data protection with Recovery Manager Central (RMC) so now when you create VMFS datastores or VMs you can assign a RMC data protection policy that will automatically be applied at the time of creation
• New support for VMFS6 datastores
• Support for vSphere 6.7 and OneView 4.1
• Support for 3PAR OS 3.3.1 MU2
• New support for MSA SASA arrays for datastore provisioning
• Optimizations to reduce the footprint and efficiency of the OV4VC virtual appliance

Here is an example of assigning data protection when creating a datastore:

I’d also like to share an important detail with our last release (9.0) that you might have missed. Beginning with the OV4VC 9.0 release you can now do in-place upgrades of the OV4VC appliance to a newer release which makes upgrading to new versions much easier.

Download the HPE OneView plug-in VMware vCenter free of charge.

HPE 3PAR Plug-in for VMware vRealize Orchestrator (vRO)

• Provides support for HPE 3PAR arrays in VMware vRealize Orchestrator to enable cloud-like IT automation so businesses can provide services faster and more efficiently
• Build workflows to automate simple or very complex tasks to support day-to-day management, decrease time-to-rollout of new services and capabilities, and decrease human error when performing large numbers of operations

We released the initial 1.0 version of our plug-in for vRO in November, this new release further enhances how you can use the plug-in by adding additional workflows mostly focused on data protection for Recovery Manager Central (RMC). One thing I’d like to point out about vRO which may not be obvious to many is that vRO is freely available to any vSphere customer and you can use it independently of vRealize Automation (vRA). What this means is even if you are not licensed for vRA you can still enjoy the benefits of vRO to implement an automation tool in your VMware environment.

Note we currently only support 3PAR arrays with this plug-in. If there are additional HPE storage products you would like us to support please let me know.

What’s new in HPE Storage Plug-In for VMware vRO v.2.0:

• New data protection workflows with RMC integration provides the ability to orchestrate data protection for datastores and VMs
• Support for 3PAR OS 3.3.1 MU2
• Support and certification of VMware vRO/vRA 7.4

An example showing the new RMC data protection tasks available is shown below:

 Download the HPE Storage Plug-In for VMware vRO free of charge.

HPE Storage Plug-in for vRealize Operations Manager (vROPS) and Log Insight (vLI)

• Allows VMware administrators to visualize and analyze data from HPE storage directly within vRealize Operations Manager to quickly view storage capacity, performance and health information, as well as troubleshoot scenarios that span across virtual and physical layers
• Delivers real-time log management for VMware environments within vRealize Log Insight, with machine learning-based Intelligent Grouping, high performance search and better troubleshooting across physical, virtual and cloud environments

The HPE Storage Plug-in for vRealize Operations Manager has recently undergone both a rebranding and licensing change. Beginning with the 3.3 release in April 2018,  the name for the plug-in has changed from “HPE StoreFront Analytics for vRealize Operations Manager” to simply “HPE Storage Plug-in for vRealize Operations Manager.”

With the recent 3.4 release in June, we have also removed the licensing component from the plug-in and it is now freely available to all customers. Existing customers of this plug-in can download and install the new 3.4 release which works with vROPS versions 6.2 – 6.7 to have the licensing removed from the plug-in.

The HPE Storage Plug-ins for vROPS & vLI only support the 3PAR and StoreVirtual platforms, support for Nimble storage is also available through Blue Medora.

What’s new in HPE Storage Plug-in for VMware vROPS 3.4 and vLI 1.2

• Rebranding to remove "StoreFront" branding
• Removal of licensing component (100% free)
• Support for 3PAR OS 3.3.1 MU2
• Support and certification of vROPS 6.7 & Log Insight 4.6

Download the HPE Storage Plug-In for VMware vROPS & vLI free of charge.

HPE 3PAR Storage Replication Adapter (SRA) Software for VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM)

• Integrates HPE 3PAR Remote Copy replication software with VMware SRM to provide a foundation for disaster recovery and business continuity solutions
• Allows for centralized management of recovery plans, non-disruptive testing, and automated site recovery, failback and migration processes

What’s new in HPE Storage Replication Adapter for VMware SRM v.6.5.5:

• Support for 3PAR OS 3.3.1 MU2
• Support and certification of SRM 8.1

Download HPE Storage Replication Adapter for VMware SRM v.6.5.5 free of charge.

As the product manager for our VMware plug-in portfolio, I’d like to solicit your feedback on any of our plug-ins for VMware. Tell us what you like, what you don’t like. any additional features or functionality you would like to see. If you need any assistance or would like to know more about our plug-ins. Feel free to contact me anytime.

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Around the Storage Block blogger Eric Siebert, Solutions Manager, HPE.  On Twitter: @ericsiebert