Learn the details about the new release of the HPE Storage Integration Pack for VMware vCenter.
โBy Eric Siebert, Solutions Manager, HPE.
The HPE Storage Integration Pack for VMware vCenter (formerly known as OneView for vCenter) enables vSphere administrators to quickly obtain context-aware information and manage supported HPE Storage devices in their VMware vSphere environment directly from within vCenter.
HPE recently introduced a major new version of our HPE Storage Integration Pack for VMware vCenter (SIP4VC) that features an entirely new user modern and clean interface (UI). HPE GreenLake customers may recognize the design elements of this new UI as we modeled it after our Data Services Cloud Console to provide customers the same user interface natively within the vSphere Client. This release also includes support for our latest storage offering, HPE GreenLake for Block Storage along with full support for vCenterโs new remote plug-in architecture. Letโs dive in and explore whatโs new in detail.
Redesigned User Interface (UI)
This is the major design element of SIP4VC 12.0, a newly redesigned user Interface consisting of 100+ pages which provides a rich experience for users. The new UI was built using React JS on the front end while the backend communication to the storage array continues using REST APIs on the backend. The UI has the same look and feel of Data Services Cloud Console (DSCC) to provide a consistent looking UI whether you are using DSCC or SIP4VC.
We also added a new dashboard landing page (figure 1) which provides a summary of your top five capacity and performance consumed HPE Storage arrays/volumes. In addition, it displays the top five alerts from all your managed storage arrays.
Figure 1: New Dashboard lists the summary of Storage and vCenter components
The new UI also performs better over the old UI and components are now more organized for easier navigation for the user as seen in here the Datastores details (figure 2).
Figure 2: Details page for a VMFS Datastore
New support for HPE GreenLake for Block Storage
SIP4VC is a multi-platform vCenter plug-in and we now claim support for our latest storage platform: HPE GreenLake for Block Storage (Alletra MP). SIP4VC version 12.0 supports all of these HPE Storage platforms and array OS versions:
- HPE MSA: 1050, 2050/2052, 2060/2062
- HPE 3PAR: 3PAR OS versions v.3.3.2 and its MUs
- HPE Nimble: Nimble OS 6.0.x, 6.1.x
- HPE Primera: Primera OS versions 4.4.x, 4.5.X
- HPE Alletra 5000/6000: Alletra 5000/6000 OS 6.0.x, 6.1.x
- HPE Alletra 9000: Alletra 9000 OS version 9.4.x, 9.5.x
- HPE GreenLake for Block Storage: (Alletra MP): 10.1.x
The list of support array platforms and OS versions varies by SIP4VC version and is continually updated, see SPOCK for the latest information.
Latest vSphere version support
SIP4VC 12.0 adds support for vSphere 8.0 U1 and will soon be qualified on vSphere 8.0 U2. We also support vSphere 6.7 U3 and vSphere 7.0 U3.
Support for vCenter Server Remote Plug-in architecture
vCenter Server originally supported a Local plug-in architecture where plug-ins were allowed to run within the vCenter Virgo java application server component. In vSphere 6.5 they introduced a new Remote plug-in architecture that was an optional method designed to integrate plug-in functionality into the vSphere Client without the need to run inside vCenter Server (i.e., virtual appliance).
VMware made vSphere 7.0 the last release that supported the option for plug-ins to run either Local or Remote and in vSphere 8.0 Local plug-ins are considered deprecated. However Local plug-ins still work in vSphere 8.0 they just have to be built to run in an isolation mode which limits the external calls they can make. In the next major vSphere release Local plug-ins will not be supported at all.
With our SIP4VC 12.0 release we now have full support for the Remote plug-in architecture which helps protect it from interference by unstable or compromised plug-ins loaded in the same vSphere Client. Some additional benefits are it provides more robust compatibility across vCenter Server upgrades and you can deploy multiple plug-in versions in the same environment as they each run independently of each other.
You can download SIP4VC 12.0 and our additional plug-ins for VMware at the My HPE Software Center under Free Software and then use the search term โVMwareโ for Product Info.
The SIP4VC plug-in continues to add new features and functionality to help vSphere administrators have better visibility and easier manageability of their HPE Storage resources. Upcoming new features include a 1-click upgrade function that will automatically download and install new SIP4VC appliance updates, more UI & UX improvements, adding the ability to manage quotas for vVols storage containers and vVols replication and more.
Questions and feedback please
We want to hear from you. Are there any particular features or information that you would like to see in the plug-in? Are there things you like, donโt like or want to see changed? Drop me an email and let me know.
Meet Around the Storage Block blogger Eric Siebert, Solutions Manager, HPE.
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