Back in June, I wrote about the features I wanted to see in vSphere 6.5 in the hopes that a new version of VMware's flagship software would be announced at VMworld 2016 U.S. Unfortunately, no such announcement came out of VMworld U.S. Instead, VMware announced a new version of vSphere at VMworld 2016 Europe, and with it, a number of new features. So, did VMware deliver on the things I asked for?

What's new in vSphere 6.5?

In my original article, I asked for scale-out vCenter; instead, VMware gave us a vCenter failover function. I also asked for a cluster of vCenter servers that would distribute the between servers, and I wanted the cluster to provide instant failover if one node experienced a problem. It was a pretty big request, so I'm not entirely surprised that I didn't get what I wanted. What we did get is a two node failover cluster for the vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA) in which one node is active while the other is on standby.

If the active node has a fault, then the standby node takes over its identity and starts the vCenter services. According to VMware, failover will take a few minutes, about the same amount of time the vSphere High Availability (HA) cluster would take to recover a failed VM. This two node failover cluster is essentially a replacement for the old vCenter Server Heartbeat product and, as far as I can tell, nothing more. It's a start, but not exactly what I wished for in the new release.

I expressed a desire for VMware Update Manager (VUM) to be integrated into vCSA and, in this case, VMware delivered. This means there's no need for an additional Windows server and database; everything is built into one appliance. This feature is long is overdue, one we have been waiting for since vCSA was first released. The delay has only made it more welcome in vSphere 6.5. The new vCSA HA and integrated VUM are signs that VMware is committed to vCSA and that the company is very serious about moving customers off Windows vCenter to vCSA.

When writing my vSphere 6.5 wish list, I also asked for a better quality product. Of course, we won't be able to judge the quality of vSphere 6.5 until it's been in the hands of users for a few months. As of right now, there is no firm commitment on a ship date for any of the products announced at either VMworld U.S. or Europe. VMware will likely deliver the new version of vSphere within the next few months.

A few pleasant surprises

VMware added a number of features to vSphere 6.5 that I didn't have on my wish list, but I know will please many users. First, there are subtle changes to vSphere HA and Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS), including a simplified user interface for setting failover resources, one which is more focused on your desired level of HA. VMware is giving users the option to have DRS spread VMs across a cluster to prevent all of your VMs from ending up on one host, which would make that host an availability risk.

VMware has also added the ability to have the physical server health information trigger HA to move VMs around. This requires HA to use vMotion to migrate VMs before they experience an outage. HA never used vMotion in prior versions of vSphere, so this is a philosophical change. I imagine many customers in banking will consider these features a welcome change, their clusters are lightly loaded, but the VMs on those clusters are very important. In vSphere 6.5, DRS also gains the ability to use trend information from vRealize Operations Manager (vROps) to predict workload changes, then migrate VMs before their resource requirements increase. This integration between vROps and vCenter is extremely appealing, as closing the loop from monitoring to predictive action is crucial as environments grow.

Another nice new feature is the HTML5 Web Client, now named the vSphere Client. I hope this new vSphere Client will quickly replace the Web Client as its features expand. The Web Client relies on Adobe Flash, with all the security issues and updates that Flash brings. The new vSphere Client simply needs an HTML5 browser, no plugins, and it works from many different browsers and OSes. Reports indicate that the HTML5 Web Client is much more responsive than the Web Client, too. While we're on the subject of web services on vCenter, there is now a Representational State Transfer application programming interface (API) for a lot of operational tasks. This won't help most operations teams, but service providers will love the ability to drive vSphere from an API. Many service providers have depended on vCloud Director (vCD) to access this API-driven approach, but having the API on vCenter may remove the need for vCD, which I think is VMware's intention.

Not all of the new features included in vSphere 6.5 are headliners like they were in earlier versions of vSphere, but this is a sign of a mature product. VSphere already covers a lot of what customers want from a virtualization platform. Instead, these smaller features aim to deliver extra value to more niche groups of customers. Rather than continue to roll out major features in vSphere, VMware is focusing on expanding features in other products like VSAN and NSX.

Next Steps

VMware advances its cloud strategy at VMworld 2016 Europe

The best of the best at VMworld 2016 Europe

Is VMware vSphere in a state of decline?

SearchVMware advisory board gives vSphere 6.5 thumbs up

PowerCLI 6.5 adds new cmdlets, upgrades others

Dig Deeper on VMware new releases and updates

• VMware-AWS partnership builds on cloud, database integration

• VMware ARM technology targets edge, telco hypervisor demand

• Why admins should wait to apply vSphere updates

• VMware vRealize Automation 7.4 adds detailed customization

• VMUG CEO Brad Tompkins ready to expand group's mission

• VMware's vCloud Air pushes for stake in hybrid cloud market

• VMware's growth tied to innovation and acquisition

• What will VAIO filtering do in vSphere 6?

• Image Builder makes it easy to manage vSphere Auto Deploy images

• The vSphere REST API adds new dimensions to automation

• Use VCHA to set up a three-node cluster and protect your workloads

• Follow these steps for a clean vCSA 6.5 installation and setup

• VMware-AWS partnership builds on cloud, database integration

• VMware ARM technology targets edge, telco hypervisor demand

• VMware vRealize Automation 7.4 adds detailed customization

• VMware-OpenStack partnership shifts in evolving market

• Why admins should wait to apply vSphere updates

• VMware acquisitions in 2017 signal strategic growth plans

• VMware embraces strategic cloud partnerships

• Image Builder makes it easy to manage vSphere Auto Deploy images

• How will vSphere admins handle container virtualization?

• VMware's vSphere 6 release keeps content under control

• Need directions for the VMware certification roadmap?

• The top 10 VMware tutorials and tips of 2014

• Alastair Cooke asks:

  Which vSphere 6.5 feature are you most excited to use?

• VMware focuses on simplicity in vSphere version 6.5– SearchVMware
• What vCenter Server upgrade options does vSphere 6.5 ..– SearchVMware
• VMware vCenter Server (formerly VMware VirtualCenter)– SearchVMware

Just want the easy upgrade (rather than download ISO) methods for vSphere 6.5 Update 1, also known as 6.5U1 or 6.5 U1? No problem, jump on over to:

• How to easily update your VMware Hypervisor from 6.5.x to 6.5 Update 1 (ESXi 6.5 U1).

Today's big vSphere 6.5 Update release is a big deal in that many customers choose to wait for these Update 1 versions of any major vSphere version before upgrading their enterprise. Yes, to mee, it seemed that vSphere 6.5 was such a major change from 6.0 that it could have just as well been called 7.0. That nitpicking aside, the wait-for-N+1 customers and risk-averse home-labbers is over. Start your downloads, but be sure to read this entire article before you begin installing!

Download

For new installs, or upgrade-from-bootable-ISO installs

Download 1

• VMware vCenter Server Appliance
  Release Notes and Download Page

  File size: 3.443 GB
  File type: iso
  Name: VMware-VCSA-all-6.5.0-5973321.iso
  Release Date: 2017-07-27
  Build Number: 5973321

Download 2

• VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi ISO) image (Includes VMware Tools)
  Release Notes and Download Page

  File size: 332.63 MB
  File type: iso
  Name: VMware-VMvisor-Installer-6.5.0.update01-5969303.x86_64.iso
  Release Date: 2017-07-27
  Build Number: 5969303

Overview

Let's roll up our sleeves and have a look at all the great new vSphere features and fixes:

• What's inside VMware vSphere 6.5 Update 1
  Jul 28 2017 by Florian Grehl at Virten.net

For those of you into vSAN, there's considerable refinement that moving from vSAN 6.6 to vSAN 6.6.1 will bring.

VMware vSAN 6.6.1 Release Notes

VMware vSAN 6.6.1 27 July 2017 ISO Build 5969303

Check for additions and updates to these release notes.

There are many fixes, and a few new features. This article helps remind folks that the vSAN bits are baked right into the Hypervisor, so there is no separate download for vSAN 6.6.1, it's right in vSphere 6.5 U1! Also, anybody can now upgrade from vSphere 6.0 U3 to vSphere 6.6.1 / vSphere 6.5 U1,.

Don't miss the VUM Integration video featured in the video gallery below.

VMware's Announcements

From earlier today: Josh groban to where you are youtube.

added Jul 28 2017, another closely related post

Don't forget to check out the deeply technical overview by Jeff Hunter and others over at StorageHub.

If you are already at vCenter/VCSA 6.5.x and ESXi 6.5.x, then you can get vSAN bits today by simply installing or upgrading to vCenter/VCSA 6.5 U1 and ESXi 6.5 U1. Details appear (soon) for both new installs and upgrade.

vSphere 6.5 Update 1 Prerequisites

1. read VMware's vSphere Upgrade guide
2. You will also need to do your homework before any major upgrade, even in a home lab. While all that goes into such efforts is well beyond the scope of this article, a great place to get started appears here:
   • My vSphere 6.5 Upgrade Checklist – painful
     Jan 29 2017 by Michael White at Notes from MWhite

vSAN Prerequisites

1. You will need the right hardware for the best experience, especially if you're expecting resilience and performance. Not just on the VCG (VMware Compatibility Guide) aka HCL, but also on the VMware Compatibility Guide for vSAN, featuring a caching layer made from SSDs of the proper write endurance paired with PLP/Supercapacitors, typically found in enterprise (costlier) flash storage devices
2. You will need a vSAN license key
3. Licensing was discussed recently here, with VMware EVALExperience~being by far the most affordable way to dip your toes into to a 6 node hybrid vSAN (unconfirmed, but the license key should cover 6), albeit a bit behind on version. I'm hoping for updates to that program soon, stay tuned.~
   This has been [mostly] Fixed! That huge update story broke right here at TinkerTry first:
   • VMUG Advantage just added the latest NSX 6.3.1 and All Flash vSAN 6.6 bits to EVALExperience, great for vSphere home labs, just $180 a year!
     May 01 2017

It shouldn't be too long before the EVALExperience downloads links are updated to 6.5 U1. Keep in mind that you can always upgrade your 6.5.x version quite easily, seen below.

VCSA baby! (NOT vCenter)

My focus and yours should be on VCSA going forward, not the old school vCenter installed on Windows. That is why TinkerTry how-to guides generally don't include vCenter on Windows. I'm all in with HMTL5 UIs, and enjoy the ease-of-install, ease-of-update, and speed of this Photon OS-based appliance. See for yourself in the update videos.

Easy Upgrade

Here's the exact way that I got these two upgrades done safely and easily, with a focus on simplicity for smaller home labs, download and install is done with one command, which I tested using the latest BIOS and IPMI on Xeon D:

What are you still reading this for? Roll up your sleeves, backup your VCSA and ESX, and get upgrading! Then come back and let us know how it went by dropping comments below the articles.

Video