As more businesses build hybrid and multicloud computing and storage infrastructures, Dell EMC and its VMware subsidiary are partnering to unify the diverse enterprise landscape.Â
New versions of VMware’s Cloud Foundation and NSX-T Data Center have hit the market in recent weeks. Called VxRail, the software appliance for preconfigured, hyper-converged infrastructures, or HCIs, runs on Dell EMC systems. The simplified command-and-control kits aim to alleviate the implementation headaches that arise when IT departments meld localized data centers with the cloud conduits for computing and storage operations.
Dell EMC and VMware say the package is the realization of an integrated development effort that began in 2016, not long after Dell’s $67 billion purchase of EMC, the Boston-based conglomerate that sells products and services across all areas of computing, networking and storage. It is the No. 1 seller of enterprise storage hardware.
The united front lets VMware and Dell EMC update and patch their software packages simultaneously, reducing downtime for enterprise customers and operators of the hyper-scale data centers that underpin cloud platforms. VMware brought Cloud Foundation to market on its own cloudOpens a new window in 2016, and it since has carved out platforms on both Amazon Web Services and IBM cloud offerings, as well as those from smaller providers.
Launched to general release last weekOpens a new window , VMware’s Cloud Foundation 3.7 iteration expands the automation and lifecycle management functionalities for software-defined data centers, or SDDCs. The platform runs the data centers on-premises and in private and public clouds, the latter as a service. The new release also builds in the company’s Horizon desktop virtualization tools.
Upgraded to version 7.7 in early March, the Horizon suiteOpens a new window lets administrators deliver applications in virtualized and physical networks and manage endpoint security from a single control plane. Integration with Cloud Foundation is expected to arrive in April and will optimize performance of off-the-shelf components and systems that share a common rack.
Horizon 7.7 contains a cloud connector that lets server pods exchange instructions and data over cloud platforms. Earlier this month, Dell EMC also upgraded VxBlock 1000, a similar setup and administration appliance for converged infrastructures made up of heterogenous hardware that is tailored for application-specific use cases.
Similarly, VMware is aiming the latest version of its NSX-T Data Center kitOpens a new window  for SDDCs at customers seeking to bridge legacy and cloud-native applications across multiple on-premises and cloud platforms. Released last month, the NSX-T 2.4 version includes more than 100 upgrades for configuring, managing and securing software-defined computing and storage networks, including on Amazon Web Services and IBM partner cloud platforms.
Offering support for everything from cloud-native applications to bare-metal workloads, NSX-T 2.4 automates setup and security for user-defined installations. By dispensing with sequential configuration, the 2.4 release lets users provision resources in what VMware says is a platform-agnostic approach to applications connectivity and security.
This declarative policy model employs JavaScript Object Notation to translate human-readable commands into machine instructions via an HTML-5 installation interface. Compatibility with Python and Powershell scripting languages further enhances consistency and scaling in the data center and across multiple cloud platforms.
Security features include distributed context- and identity-based firewalls for individual applications and white-listing of network traffic. This lets administrators place permission parameters and prohibitions on Internet URLs. Improved analytics and visualization functions support both VMware VRealize Log Insight and the Splunk vizualization application from AWS.
VMware says its software-first approach to networking offers greater efficiencies than the switching technology used by competitors Cisco Systems and Juniper Networks. That is because SDDCs are built with applications in mind in the command-and-control overlay.
Nevertheless, Dell EMC is challenging those makers with a line of 25-gigiabit Ethernet switches for top-of-rack data center deployments. Introduced in NovemberOpens a new window , those units are designed to optimize NSX network virtualization software.
With a quarterly drop of 20% to end the year, lending credence to forecasts by some analysts that server sales could slump in 2019, the two-pronged approach appears to position the companies to offset a change in market conditions. VMware executives say the continued migration of enterprise IT to hybrid cloud infrastructures will be a long-term driver of growth for SDDC products and services.