VMware Products Overview

VMware Hypervisor 

A VMware hypervisor is a software layer that allows a physical computer to run multiple virtual machines (VMs) at the same time: 

How it works:

A hypervisor acts as an intermediary between the physical computer's resources and the operating systems (OS) running on the VMs. It allocates the computer's resources, like memory and processing, to each VM, and isolates them so they can run independently. 

Benefits:

A hypervisor allows you to run multiple operating systems without rebooting the computer. It also protects sensitive data with encryption, and makes it easier to manage and audit the VMs. 

VMware hypervisor products

VMware offers a variety of hypervisor products, including: 

VMware Workstation Pro: A desktop hypervisor for Windows that allows you to run Windows, Linux, and other VMs 

VMware Fusion: A desktop hypervisor for Mac that allows you to run VMs 

ESXi: A native hypervisor that's part of the VMware Infrastructure software suite 

VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF)

VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) is a private cloud infrastructure platform that allows users to implement a cloud operating model on-premises. VCF is built on compute, networking, and storage virtualization, and offers a number of features, including: 

Ease of deployment: VCF offers easy deployment. 

Lifecycle management: VCF uses a pre-validated Build of Materials (BOM) for lifecycle management. 

Automated provisioning: VCF offers automated provisioning of infrastructure resources. 

SDDC Manager: VCF's automation engine, SDDC Manager, orchestrates all the software defined data center infrastructure components. 

Stretched deployment: VCF allows users to set up two availability zones in their environment, which can help improve availability and minimize downtime. 

Integration of different components: VCF integrates different components, including vSphere (compute), vSAN (storage), and NSX (networking). 

Support for VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle: VCF supports automated deployment of VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle. 

VCF is available in Standard, Advanced, and Enterprise editions.

VMware SDDC Manager

VMware SDDC Manager is a preconfigured virtual appliance that manages the software-defined data center (SDDC) infrastructure components in VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF). It's a cloud automation engine that can scale up to meet the needs of large data centers. 

Here are some of the things the VMware SDDC Manager can do: 

Lifecycle management: Automates routine tasks like patching and upgrading 

Security: Provides centralized password management and SSL certificate automation 

Workload domains: Create, deploy, and extend workload domains 

ESXi hosts: Commission and decommission ESXi hosts 

Clusters: Add clusters to the management and workload domains 

Network pools: Support network pools for host configuration in a workload domain 

vRealize Suite components: Deploy vRealize Suite components 

The SDDC Manager appliance should be placed on the VM management network. This simplifies IP addressing and secure access to management VMs. 

VMware NSX

VMware NSX is a software-defined networking (SDN) platform that virtualizes network functions and provides security for data centers, clouds, and application frameworks. It's designed to help organizations manage and secure their digital infrastructure, and can help with the following: 

Virtualization: NSX can implement virtual networks on physical networks and within virtual server infrastructures. 

Microsegmentation: NSX can help isolate workloads from each other and contain intrusions before they're detected. 

Scalability and flexibility: NSX can help growing businesses meet their demands. 

Automation: NSX provides a programmatic API to automate management activities. 

Integration: NSX integrates with third-party partners for management, control plane, and data plane. 

Support: NSX supports cloud-native applications, bare metal workloads, public clouds, and multiple clouds. 

Introducing VMware NSX for vSphere 6.3 & VMware NSX-T 1.1 ...

VMware NSX is part of VMware's software-defined data center (SDDC) concept, which offers cloud computing on VMware virtualization technologies. 

VMware vSAN

VMware vSAN is a software-defined storage virtualization solution that creates a single data store for virtual machines (VMs) across a VMware vSphere cluster. It does this by aggregating local and direct-attached data storage devices, and then virtualizing the storage resources of ESXi hosts. 

Here are some features of VMware vSAN: 

Storage pools

vSAN creates pools of storage that can be divided and assigned to VMs and applications based on their quality-of-service requirements. 

Hybrid or all-flash clusters

vSAN can be configured to use flash devices for both cache and capacity, or to use flash devices for the cache layer and magnetic disks for the storage capacity layer. 

HCI Mesh

This capability allows customers to remotely mount a vSAN datastore to other vSAN clusters, which can help with scaling storage and compute independently. 

Disaster recovery

vSAN can help lower disaster recovery costs by using HCI servers instead of purpose-built storage arrays. 

VM-level policies

vSAN allows customers to control VM storage provisioning and day-to-day management of storage SLAs through VM-level policies. 

VMware vROPS

vROps, or VMware Aria Operations, is a VMware tool that helps monitor, troubleshoot, and manage virtualized environments. It can monitor physical, virtual, and cloud infrastructures, and can automate maintenance tasks. 

Some of the features of vROps include: 

Predictive analytics: vROps can use predictive analytics to drive proactive action. 

Policy-based automation: vROps can automate tasks based on policies. 

Resource requirement anticipation: vROps can help you anticipate your resource requirements to ensure quality of service. 

Undersized VMs: vROps can help you identify which VMs are undersized and how much more resources they need. 

vROps can be delivered as a standalone service or as part of the vRealize Suite. 

VMware vRLI

VMware vRealize Log Insight (vRLI) is a log management tool that provides real-time and archived log management for applications and infrastructure in any environment. It offers features such as: 

Dashboards: Intuitive dashboards that provide actionable insights 

Analytics: Sophisticated analytics 

Extensibility: Broad third-party extensibility across physical, virtual, and cloud environments 

Machine learning: Intelligent grouping and high performance search based on machine learning 

Scalability: Highly scalable log management that can scale out by using multiple instances in clusters 

vRLI can analyze terabytes of logs, discover structure in unstructured data, and deliver enterprise-wide visibility. 

You can download vRealize Log Insight from the VMware vRealize Log Insight download page. 

VMware vRA

VMware vRealize Automation (vRA) is a cloud automation platform that helps organizations manage and deliver applications and infrastructure. It's part of the vRealize Suite of products for managing hybrid cloud environments. 

Here are some benefits of vRA: 

Extensibility: vRA offers a range of extensibility options that allow IT personnel to adapt and extend their cloud to work with their existing IT infrastructure. 

Orchestration: vRA automates and coordinates tasks, workflows, and processes across different systems and technologies within a cloud environment. 

Agility and flexibility: vRA provides high levels of agility and flexibility for developers. 

Governance and control: vRA enables IT teams to maintain governance and control. 

Self-service provisioning: vRA automates multiple clouds with secure, self-service provisioning. 

VMware Identity Manager (VIDM)

VMware Identity Manager (vIDM) is a service that provides identity and access management for applications, devices, and users: 

Single sign-on (SSO): vIDM provides a seamless SSO experience for applications, including web, native, and virtual applications. 

Multi-factor authentication: vIDM provides multi-factor authentication for applications. 

Conditional access: vIDM provides conditional access for applications. 

Directory infrastructure: vIDM extends on-premises directory infrastructure. 

Mobile single sign-on: vIDM provides mobile single sign-on, including device management and compliance checks. 

vIDM is available in both shared SaaS and on-premises deployment models. It can be used with Workspace ONE UEM, VMware Horizon, and device management. 

vIDM's flexibility comes from its core components, which include directories, identity providers, and authentication policies. These components support a wide range of authentication methods. 

VMware vRSLCM

VMware vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager (VLCM) is a free appliance that helps you manage vRealize products and content. It offers a single pane of glass for the entire suite, and can help with: 

Deployment, configuration, and management: VLCM can help you deploy, configure, and manage vRealize Suite products. 

Content lifecycle management: VLCM can help you manage the lifecycle of vRealize Suite content. 

Automation: VLCM can help you automate the deployment of vRealize Suite content across different environments. 

Version control: VLCM can help you implement version control. 

Plugin installation and management: VLCM can help you simplify plugin installation and management. 

Reducing cloud admin work: VLCM can reduce the ongoing work required by cloud admins. 

VLCM supports the following content: vRealize Automation 7.2 and later, vRealize Orchestrator 7.x and later, VMware vSphere 6.0 and later, and vRealize Operations Manager 6.6.1+ and later. 

VMware vRNI

VMware vRealize Network Insight (vRNI) is a tool that helps manage and monitor software-defined networking (SDN) environments, especially VMware NSX. It provides services for network operations and security, including: 

Application discovery: Users can define applications manually or use automated discovery based on vSphere tags, custom attributes, and VM naming conventions. 

Pre-deployment insight: A pre-assessment tool that provides insight into data center traffic flows. 

Post-deployment monitoring: Helps prevent problems before they happen and lowers the time to resolution. 

Network performance optimization: Uses visualization and analysis capabilities to optimize network performance. 

Network infrastructure security: Helps build a secure network infrastructure across multi-cloud environments. 

Micro-segmentation planning: Helps accelerate micro-segmentation planning and deployment. 

Network visibility: Provides visibility across virtual and physical networks. 

vRNI was originally known as Arkin Net, which VMware acquired in June 2016. 

VMware HCX

VMware Hybrid Cloud Extension (HCX) is a tool that helps with application migration, workload rebalancing, and business continuity across data centers and clouds. It can help with a number of technical issues, including: 

Migrating from older versions of vSphere to newer ones 

Migrating without changing IP addresses 

WAN optimization and data de-duplication 

Data security 

HCX's main components include: HCX Manager, HCX Interconnect (HCX-IX), HCX Network Extension (HCX-NE), HCX WAN Optimization (HCX-WO), and HCX Sentinel Data Receiver and HCX Sentinel Gateway (HCX-SDR/SGW). 

HCX requires an NSX that's configured with an Overlay Transport Zone. 

VMware Tanzu

VMware Tanzu is a cloud-native application platform that helps organizations build, run, and manage modern applications across any cloud. It offers a number of benefits, including: 

Developer experience

Tanzu provides a streamlined, self-service developer experience that fits a development team's preferred practices and workflows. 

Cloud neutrality

Tanzu helps organizations standardize their cloud native operations and abstract away the complexity of deploying to cloud infrastructure. 

Accelerated software delivery

Tanzu Platform accelerates software delivery and lifecycle management. 

App-to-platform visibility

AI-powered insights provide a common control plane and data model for any cloud, platform, tool, or persona. 

Secure software supply chains

Tanzu enables a customer's software supply chains to be more secure from development to production. 

Automated application operations

Tanzu Platform's "scale" capability automates application operations using APIs, enabling rolling upgrades and scaling without downtime. 

VMware TKGI

VMware Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated Edition (TKGI) is a Kubernetes-based container orchestration platform that allows users to manage, operate, and provision Kubernetes clusters. TKGI is a standalone platform that can be installed on a variety of environments, including: 

vSphere or OpenStack environments 

Major public clouds like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure 

TKGI offers a number of features, including: 

Life cycle management 

Cluster health monitoring 

Advanced networking 

Container registry 

Pod-level container networking 

Load balancing 

Security policies 

Enterprise-grade storage features 

TKGI's control plane is made up of BOSH and Ops Manager, and it uses Bosh VMs as nodes for Tanzu Kubernetes clusters. 

Cheers !!!