Dell VMware vSphere 7.0 Quick Start Guide
A Principled Technologies report: Hands-on testing. Real-world results.
Executive summary
New VMware vSphere 7.0 features reduced the time and complexity of routine update and hardware compliance tasks
On a cluster of multigenerational Dell EMC PowerEdge servers, vSphere Lifecycle Manager and Quick Boot, along with OpenManage Integration for VMware vCenter Server, automated tasks to save time and steps
In a virtualized environment, keeping the hypervisor and firmware up to date can impose a considerable burden on IT staff. Additionally, the process of verifying that new hardware, driver, and firmware combinations are compatible with the hypervisor can be very time-consuming. In data centers that comprise servers from multiple generations, these tasks can become even more complex. Finding tools that streamline such activities can save a great deal of hands-on IT administrator time.
If you rely on Dell EMC™ PowerEdge™ servers and VMware vSphere® for your virtualization needs, you can gain such efficiencies by upgrading to vSphere 7.0, which includes vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM) and Quick Boot. You can also benefit from using the OpenManage Integration for VMware vCenter (OMIVV), a virtual appliance for managing and deploying Dell servers in a virtual environment.
When we carried out several updates and compatibility verification tasks both manually and using these tools on a cluster of Dell EMC PowerEdge 13G and current-generation servers, VMware vSphere 7.0 and OMIVV capabilities dramatically reduced the hands-on time and number of steps to complete these tasks. This lets administrators devote more time and energy to innovation.
34x faster
Update hypervisor in under 3 minutes vs. 1.3 hours manually*
68x faster |
7x faster |
Complete hypervisor |
Save up to 20 |
and firmware updates |
minutes per node |
in under 4 minutes |
completing hardware |
vs. 3.5 hours |
compatibility |
manually* |
checks |
*Hands-on time updating an eight-node cluster
New VMware vSphere 7.0 features reduced the time and complexity of routine update and hardware compliance tasks |
August 2020 |
Our testing in a nutshell
We wanted to quantify the time and hassle administrators can avoid when they employ tools that help with updating the hypervisor and firmware and verifying compliance. We set up a cluster of Dell EMC PowerEdge 13G and current-generation servers and then carried out several scenarios both manually and using features in vSphere Lifecycle Manager with Quick Boot and Dell EMC OpenManage Integration for VMware vCenter.
Updating the hypervisor across your cluster
For optimal performance and security, companies should always run current hypervisor versions. We updated the hypervisor on the eight servers in our cluster three ways:
• The manual approach took more than 2.5 hours, including over 1.3 hours of hands-on admin time
• Using vLCM without Quick Boot enabled cut hands-on time to less than 3 minutes and total time to 48 minutes
• Using vLCM and enabling Quick Boot reduced total time to 32 minutes
Simultaneously updating hypervisor and firmware
When vendors release new firmware updates, failure to implement them quickly exposes your environment to the hardware bugs and security vulnerabilities that these updates typically fix. We simultaneously updated the hypervisor and firmware on the eight servers in our cluster two ways:
• The manual approach took 152 steps and over 3.5 hours of hands-on admin time
• Using vLCM with OMIVV cut that to 2 steps and less than 4 minutes of hands-on admin time
Verifying hardware compatibility
The compatibility status of hardware, software, and firmware in a VMware vSphere cluster can change over time, making it necessary for admins to perform periodic compatibility checks. We checked the hardware compatibility of a single node two ways:
• The manual approach took 21 steps and 23 minutes of hands-on admin time
• Using vLCM reduced that to 3 steps and less than 3 minutes of hands-on admin time
Read our complete report to learn more about the ways that using Dell EMC PowerEdge servers and VMware vSphere 7.0 can help companies streamline updating and compatibility-checking activities
with vSphere Lifecycle Manager, Quick Boot, and OpenManage Integration for VMware vCenter.
Read the report at http://facts.pt/chz3xgi
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For additional information, review the report.
New VMware vSphere 7.0 features reduced the time and complexity of routine update and hardware compliance tasks |
August 2020 | 2 |
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