Whats New VMware vSphere 50 Platform Technical Whitepaper

7/31/2019 Whats New VMware vSphere 50 Platform Technical Whitepaper

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Whats New in VMwarevSphere 5.0 Platform

VMwarevSphere

T e c h n i c a l W h i T e P a P e R

v 1 / U P d a T e d M a y 2 0 1 1


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Wats New in VMwae vSpee 5.0 - Platm

T e c h n i c a l W h i T e P a P e R / 2

Tb Of cotts

Introduction 3Virtual Machine Enhancements 3

Virtual Machine Scalability and Added Device Support 3

Compatibility with Older Versions o VMware Tools and Virtual Hardware 3

Improved SSD Handling and Optimization 4

New Command-Line Interace 4

New esxcli Command 4

Formatted esxcli Command Output 5

esxcli Command Authentication 5

Augmenting esxcli with Other Commands 5

The localcli Command 5

ESXi Firewall 6

VMware ESXi Firewall GUI 6

VMware ESXi Firewall CLI 7

Third-Party Interace 7

Image Builder 7

VIB Packaging Format 7

Image Builder Depots and Image Profles 8

Image Builder PowerCLI Interace 8

Auto Deploy Server 9How Auto Deploy Works 9

Auto Deploy Rules Engine 9

Benefts o Auto Deploy 10

Auto Deploy and Host Profles 11

vCenter Update Manager 11

Improved Integration with vSphere Clusters 11

Enhanced Update Manager Download Service 11

Update Manager UI Improvements 11

Support or VMware ESX/ESXi 4.x to VMware ESXi 5.0 Upgrades 11

Improved VMware Tools Upgrade11

Conclusion 12


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IntductinVMware vSphere 5.0 (vSphere) introduces many improvements and new eatures to extend the benets and

capabilities o vSphere 4.1. These advancements build on the core capacities in vSphere to provide improvedscalability; better perormance; and easier provisioning, monitoring and troubleshooting. This paper ocuses on

the ollowing new eatures and enhancements:

Virtualmachineenhancements

ImprovedSSDhandlingandoptimization

Command-lineenhancements

VMwareESXirewall

vSphereImageBuilder

vSphereAutoDeployserver

vSphereHostProles

VMwarevCenterUpdateManager

Vitual Macine EnancementsvSphere5.0providesasignicantleapforwardintheareasofvirtualmachinescalabilityandperformance.It

ofers support or signicantly larger virtual machines along with added device support and enhanced backward

compatibility or virtual machines running older versions o VMware Tools and virtual hardware.

Virtual Machine Scalability and Added Device Support

InvSphere5.0itisnowpossibletorunpracticallyanyworkloadinsideavirtualmachine.Inadditiontoits

providing support or larger virtual machines, each virtual machine now supports additional capabilities and

devices not previously available, including the ollowing:

Upto32virtualCPUs(vCPUs)andupto1TBofRAM

Enhancedgraphicscapabilities,including3Dgraphicssupportthatenablesaricherdesktopexperience

Broaderdevicecoverage,includingsupportfor3.0USBdevices,smartcardreadersandEFIBIOS

NewuserinterfacesupportforconguringmulticorevCPUs

SupportfornewguestoperatingsystemsincludingMacOSXServerv10.6(SnowLeopard)

Compatibility with Older Versions o VMware Tools and Virtual Hardware

Alongwiththeimprovementsinscalabilityandaddeddevicesupport,vSphere5.0continuestosupporthosting

virtual machines running prior versions o VMware Tools and older virtual hardware versions. With this support it

is not necessary to upgrade all your virtual machines in conjunction with your vSphere 5.0 upgrade. You can

continue to run virtual machines with the 4.x version o VMware Tools, and virtual hardware versions 4 and 7, in a

ully supported conguration. You are required to upgrade the VMware Tools and virtual hardware version onlywhen necessary to take advantage o the new eatures and capabilities added in vSphere 5.0.


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VErSIoN VSPhErE 4.x VSPhErE 5 .0

VMware Tools 4.x Yes Yes

VMware Tools 5.0 Yes Yes

VMFS-3 Yes Yes

VMFS-5 No Yes

Virtual hardware1 3,4,7 4, 7, 8

Table 1.vSpherexandvSphereCompatibility

Impved SSD handling and optimizatinvSphere5.0providesnewformsofSSDhandlingandoptimization.TheVMkernelautomaticallyrecognizesand

tagsSSDdevicesthatarelocaltoanESXihostorareonthenetwork.Inaddition,theVMkernelschedulerismodiedtoallowESXiswaptoextendtolocalornetworkSSDdevices,whichenablesmemoryover

commitmentandminimizesperformanceimpact.

New Cmmand-Line InteacevSphere5.0introducesanewcommand-lineinterface(CLI).AchallengelongfacedbyvSphereadministrators

hasbeentheneedtoworkwithmanydierentcommand-linetools,eachwithauniquesyntax.Inaddition,

diferent commands were needed to manage a host locally versus remotely. vSphere 5.0 marks the beginning o

eortsbyVMwaretostandardizeonasingleCLIforbothlocalandremoteadministration,aswellastohelp

reducetheoverallnumberofCLItools.

New esxcli Command

Thenewesxclicommandprovidesanintuitive,user-friendlyinterfacethatenablesreal-timediscoveryof

command syntax. While similar in look and eel to its vSphere 4.x predecessor, the new esxcli command has an

improved syntax and has been extended to include additional unctionality not previously available, such as the

abilitytocongurenetworkpoliciesandsecuritypolicies,manageVIBs,andcongureandmanagetheVMware

ESXirewall.

TheesxclicommandisavailableoneachVMwareESXihostviatheVMwareESXishell.Itisalsoavailableas

partoftheoptionalvCLIpackagethatcanbeinstalledonanysupportedWindowsorLinuxserver,orthrough

thevSphereManagementAssistant(vMA).

esxcli Command Structure

ExampleCommands:

# esxcli--server 192.168.1.25 storage lesystem list

# esxcli--server 192.168.1.20 --vihost esx01 network ip interface list

esxcii connect options namespace [] cmd []

Figure 1. esxcliCommand

1.VMware ESXi 5.0 supports upgrading virtual hardware version 3 and later


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Formatted esxcli Command Output

InadditiontoprovidingaconsistentlookandfeelforbothlocalandremoteCLIadministration,thenewesxcli

commandprovidestheabilitytoformatthecommandoutput.Usingthe--formatteroption,administrators

canchoosetohavethecommandoutputformattedasXML,akey-valuepairoralistofcomma-separatedvalues. The esxcli ormatter enhances your ability to parse command output, helping to simpliy scripting and

improve report generation.

esxcli Formatter Option

# esxcli--formatter=csv --format-param=elds=Name,Mac Address,Enabled

network ip interface list

Name,MACAddress,Enabled

vmk0,00:1a:64:d0:bf:00,true,

vmk1,00:50:56:71:38:bc,true,

vmk2,00:50:56:79:70:28,true,

vmk3,00:50:56:71:d0:fe,true,

Figure 2.esxcliFormatterOption

esxcli Command Authentication

Eachtimeyourunanesxclicommand,youmustbeauthenticated.Userscanchoosetoauthenticateagainst

anindividualVMwareESXhostoravCenterServer.vSphere5.0providesthefollowingoptionsformanaging

user authentication:

IfyouareloggedonlocallyusingtheVMwareESXishell,esxcliwillusethecredentialsofthelogged-inuser.

Ifyouarerunningcommandsremotely,youcanspecifythecredentialsaspartofthecommand.

Youcansavetheuserscredentialsintoasessionleandprovidethenameofthesessionleasacommand-

line parameter.

IfrunningcommandsremotelyfromaWindowsserver,youcanconguretheWindowsPassThroughAuth.

IfusingthevMA,youcanusethefastpassauthentication.

When working remotely i no authentication credentials are provided with the esxcli command, you will be

prompted to provide a username and password.

Augmenting esxcli with Other Commands

InvSphere5.0,thenewesxclicommandreplacesthedeprecatedesxcfg-*-stylecommands.However,it

doesntyetprovideacomprehensivesetofcommand-linecapabilities.Theesxclicommandwillcontinuetobe

enhancedinfuturereleasesandwilleventuallyreplacethenon-esxclicommands.Untilthattime,youwill

continuetoaugmenttheesxclicommandwiththevicfg-commandsandotherfamiliarCLItoolssuchas

vmware-cmdandvmkfstoolstotroubleshootandadministeryourVMwareESXihosts.Ofcourse,youcanalsocontinuetousethevSpherePowerCLI.

The localcli Command

Inadditiontothenewesxclicommand,anewlocalclicommandhasbeenaddedinvSphere5.0.Thelocalcli

command is largely equivalent to the esxcli command, with the notable exception that it bypasses the local

hostdprocessontheserver.ThelocalclicommandisintendedforsituationswheretheVMwareESXihosts

hostddaemonbecomesunresponsive.Itisrecommendedthatyoudonotusethelocalclicommandoutside

o the direction o VMware global services because it can result in host instability.


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ESxi FiewallvSphere5.0nowprovidesanewrewallthatprotectsthemanagementinterfaceofahostrunningESXi.This

rewallprovidessimilaraccesscontrolcapabilitiesfortheVMwareESXiplatformtothoseavailableontheVMwareESXplatform.However,thetechnologyusedtobuildthisrewallisdierentfromtheiptablesrunning

onaconsoleoperatingsystem(OS)intheVMwareESXenvironment.

InVMwareESXi,theaccesscontrolcapabilityisprovidedthroughavmknic(VMkernelnetworkadaptor)-level

rewallmodule.Thismodulesitsbetweenavmknicandavirtualswitch.Itinspectspacketsagainstrewallrules.

Basedontheresults,itdetermineswhethertodroporpasspackets.Thefollowingarekeyfeaturesofthenewrewall:

Itisaservice-orientedandstatelessrewall.

ItsupportsadditionalcapabilitytorestrictaccesstoservicesbasedonIPaddressandsubnetmask.

ThecongurationGUIissimilartotheVMwareESXrewall.

Therewallcanbeconguredusingthenewesxclicommand-lineinterface.

HostProlessupportisprovidedforthisrewall.

TheVMwareESXirewallprovidessecuritytothemanagementinterfaceandhelpsmanagerewallrulesthroughafamiliar,service-orientedGUI.ThisfamiliarGUIandthecapabilitytopreserverewallsettingshelp

administratorstremendouslyduringthetransitionfromtheVMwareESXtotheVMwareESXiplatform.

Inthefollowingsection,higher-leveldetailsonrewallGUI,CLIandthird-partyinterfaceareprovidedtohelp

administrators understand the rewall rule management and conguration process.

VMware ESXi Firewall GUI

SimilartotheVMwareESXrewall,theVMwareESXirewallcanbemanagedfromthevSphereclientshostand

clusterview.Afterselectingthehostandchoosingthecongurationtab,theVIadministratorcancheck

diferent services and rewall settings under the security prole.

Figure3showsthescreenshotofthesecurityproleofahost,withdetailsonavailableservicesandrewall

rules.Administratorscanstartorstopanyoftheseservicesandalsoprovideaccesstotheseservicesthroughthe rewall parameters.

Figure 3.SecurityProfleScreenshot


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VMware ESXi Firewall CLI

Forrewallcongurationcommands,aseparaterewallnamespaceisprovided,asshowninFigure4.

getset

refreshload

unload

listset

addlist

remove

list

esxcii network firewall ruleset

allowedip

rule

Figure 4.esxcliFirewallCommandStructure

The get command (esxcli network frewallget) can be used to collect the inormation about the current rewall

settings. The set command (esxcli network frewallset)enablesuserstocongurerewallrules.Administrators

can use this simple and intuitive command interace option to manage rewall rules.

Third-Party Interace

Administratorswhowanttodenenewrewallservicescandosothroughxmldescriptionles.Onceanxmlle

with a new service and rewall rule is created under /etc/vmware/rewall older, administrators can run the

esxclirefreshcommandtoloadthisnewserviceandrewallconguration.ThisgivessecurityandVI

administrators the ability to create new services and related rewall rules at run time.

Image BuildevSphere5.0introducestheVMwareESXiImageBuilder.TheImageBuilderisaPowerShellCLIcommandset

thatenablescustomerstocustomizetheirVMwareESXiimages.WithImageBuilder,youcancreateVMware

ESXiinstallationimageswithacustomizedsetofupdates,patchesanddrivers.

VIB Packaging Format

TheVMwareESXiinstallationimagecomprisesaseriesofseparatelypackagedsoftwarecomponentsreferredto

asVMwareInstallationBundles(VIBs).WhenaVMwareESXihostisinstalled,theinstallerformatstheboot

deviceandextractstheVIBsotheinstallationmediaontothebootdevice(ordirectlyintomemorywithAutoDeploy).OncetheVIBshavebeenextracted,thehostbootsandthehypervisorisloaded.Achallengewithprior

releasesofVMwareESXiaroseanytimeanadministratorneededtoaddormodifyoneoftheVIBcomponents

to add new device drivers or a new network adaptor, or example. vSphere 5.0 addresses this gap by providing

userswiththeImageBuildertocustomizetheirVMwareESXiinstallationimages.


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Image Builder Depots and Image Profles

UsingtheImageBuilder,customersplacetheVMwareESXiVIBsintosoftwaredepots.Theadministratorthen

usestheImageBuilderPowerCLItocombinetheVIBsfromtheseparatedepotswiththedefaultVMwareESXi

installationimage,tocreateacustomimageprolethatcanthenbeusedtoinstalltheirVMwareESXihosts.

Multipledepotsandimageprolescanbemaintained.Forexample,aseparateimageprolecanbecreatedfor

installingVMwareESXionrackmountedserverswhileanotherimageproleisusedforinstallingVMwareESXi

on blade servers.

ESXIVIBs

Image

Builder

Generate new image

DriverVIBs

OEM VIBs

Depots

ImageProfile

ISO Image

Windows Host with PowerCLIand Image Builder Snap-in

PXE-bootableImage

Figure 5.ImageBuilder

Image Builder PowerCLI Interace

ImageBuilderusesaPowerCLIinterfacetodeneandmanagethedepotsandcreatetheimageproles.In

additiontoidentifyingtheVIBsthatmakeupyourimageprole,ImageBuilderalsoenablesyoutodene

relationshipsbetweenthevariousVIBcomponents,helpingyouensurethatdependenciesaremetand

components are installed in the desired order.

TheImageBuilderPowerCLIsnap-inisincludedwithPowerCLI.

Auto Deploy PowerCLI Commands

PowerCLI C:\> Connect-VIServer 192.168.1.20

PowerCLI C:\> Get-EsxImageProle MyProle | format -list

PowerCLI C:\> Add-EsxSoftwarePackage --ImageProle MyProle --SoftwarePackage

new-package

PowerCLI C:\> Export-EsxImageProle --ImageProle MyProle --ExportToBundle

--FilePath C:\ESXiImages

Figure 6.ImageBuilderPowerCLICommands


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Aut Deply SeveThevSphereAutoDeployserversimpliesthedeploymentofVMwareESXihostsinyourenvironment.Usingthe

AutoDeployserver,youcanprovisionhundredsofphysicalhostswithVMwareESXisoftware.Youcanspecifytheimagetodeployandthehosttoprovisionwiththeimage.Optionally,youcanspecifyHostProlestoapply

to the host, and a location or each host.

How Auto Deploy Works

WhenaphysicalhostsetupforAutoDeployisturnedon,AutoDeployusesaPXEbootinfrastructurein

conjunctionwithvSphereHostProlestoprovisionandcustomizethathost.Nostateisstoredonthehostitself.

Instead,theAutoDeployservermanagesstateinformationforeachhost.

Whenaphysicalhostisbooted,itPXEbootsoverthenetworkwhereaDHCPserverassignsanIPaddressand

redirectsthehosttoaTFTPserver,whichdirectsthehosttoperformanHTTPbootfromtheAutoDeploy

server.TheAutoDeployserverthenstreamstheVMwareESXisoftwareimageintomemoryonthetargethost.

Oncetheentireimageisresidentinmemory,VMwareESXibootsupandcontactstheVMwarevCenterServer,

whereHostProlescanbeusedtoautomaticallycongurethehost.Oncethehosthasbeencongured,itisplacedintotheproperVMwarevCenterclusterorfolderandisavailabletohostvirtualmachines.

ImageProfile

Rules Engine

Auto Deploy

Waiter

TFTP DHCP

vCenter Server

Host Profile

ESXI

VIBs

DriverVIBs

gPXE

image

DHCP

Request

OEM VIBs

Image Builder

Figure 7.AutoDeployArchitecture

Auto Deploy Rules Engine

TheAutoDeployserverusesarulesenginetoidentifywhichimageandwhichHostProletodelivertowhich

host.AdministratorsusetheAutoDeployPowerCLItodenetherulesthatassignimageprolesandHost

Prolestothehosts.


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T e c h n i c a l W h i T e P a P e R / 1 0


Auto Deploy PowerCLI Commands

PowerCLI C:\> Connect-VIServer 192.168.1.20

PowerCLI C:\> Add-EsxSoftwareDepot C:\ESXiImages\ESXi-Image1.zip

PowerCLI C:\> New-DeployRule --Name Host-Group1 --Item Image1-Prole --Pattern

ipv4 192.168.1.30 - 192.168.1.50

PowerCLI C:\> Add-DeployRUle Host-Group1

Figure 8.AutoDeployPowerCLICommands

AspartoftheHTTPbootrequest,theVMwareESXihostprovidestheAutoDeployserverwithinformation

abouttheserver,includingthetypeofhardware(make/model)anditsTCP/IPconguration.TheAutoDeploy

server rules engine compares this inormation against the predened rules to identiy the proper image and

HostProlesforthehost.WithAutoDeploy,youcanmaintainmultiplerulesetstoaccountformanydierenttypesofserverhardwarein

yourenvironment.Eachtimetheserverboots,therulesenginewillensurethattheproperimageisdeployed,

based on the hardware characteristics o the server.

Benefts Aut DeplyTheAutoDeployserverprovidesmanybenets:

DecouplestheVMwareESXihostfromthephysical

server and eliminates the boot disk

Becausethehostimageisloadedoverthenetwork

directly into host memory, there is no longer a need or

adedicatedbootdeviceforeachhost.Inan

environment with hundreds o hosts, this can result in

a signicant savings in terms o disk space as well as

improve system reliability through the elimination o

rotating media.

Makes it easy to (re)deploy large numbers o VMware

ESXihosts

AutoDeployprovidesforaexibledeployment

ramework that can be used to install small as well as

large numbers o hosts.

FacilitatesVMwareESXihostrecovery BecausetheVMwareESXihostimageisdecoupled

rom the physical server, it also simplies recovery o

VMwareESXihosts.Ifyouhaveahardwarefailure,

simply boot the host image rom a new server.

Eli mi nate scongurati ondr if t AutoDeploywork sdirec tlywi thbot ht heI mage

BuilderandHostProleswhendeployingand

conguringVMwareESXihosts.Everyhostrebootis

like a resh install.

Simplies patching and updating WithAutoDeploy,patchingisassimpleasupdating

theHostProleimageusingImageBuilderand

rebootingyourVMwareESXihost.


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Auto Deploy and Host Profles

TheAutoDeployserverusesHostProlestoconguretheVMwareESXihostsaftertheyhavebeeninstalled

andbooted.ToaccommodateconguringVMwareESXihostsdeployedwithAutoDeploy,severalsignicant

improvementshavebeenmadetoHostProlesinvSphere5.0.Mostnotably,HostProleshavebeenextendedtoincludeadditionalcongurationsettingsnotinearlierversions,suchassupportforiSCSI,FCoE,storage

multipathing,individualdevicesettingsandkernelmodulesettings.Inaddition,forhost-specicconguration

attributesHostProlesnowenablescreatingaper-hostanswerle.Theanswerleisusedtostorehost-specic

attributesthatarenotsharedwithotherhosts.ThisfacilitatestheautomateddeploymentofhostsusingAuto

Deploy,becausethehost-specicsettingscanbeappliedusingtheanswerle,andtheremainingshared

congurationcanthenbeappliedusingtheHostProle.

vCente Update ManageThevCenterUpdateManagerhasbeenfurtheroptimizedinvSphere5.0.

Improved Integration with vSphere Clusters

ThenewUpdateManagerincludesimprovedintegrationwithvSphereclusters.UpdateManagernowmonitors

theclustersavailablecapacityandusestheinformationonsparecapacity,tooptimizethenumberofhoststhat

can be patched simultaneously. This enables more optimal patching o clusters, with no risk o virtual machine

downtime.Inthecasewheremaintenancewindowsarelimitedandvirtualmachinedowntimeisnotcritical,

UpdateManagerisnowabletopatchanentireclusterinunison,enablingrapidandsimultaneouspatchingofall

hosts in a cluster.

Enhanced Update Manager Download Service

UpdateManager5.0alsoprovidesmoreexibilityinconguringtheUpdateManagerDownloadService

(UMDS).UserscannowdenemultipleURLsfromwhichthehostcandownloadupdates.Inaddition,

administrators can now lter the updates that get downloaded to include only those patches/updates that are

applicable to their environment.

Update Manager UI Improvements

TheUpdateManagerUtilityhasalsobeenimprovedtomakeiteasiertoupdateandmanagetheUpdate

Managercongurationitself.WiththenewUpdateManagerUtility,userscannowchangetheUpdateManager

databasepasswordandcongureproxyauthentication,aswellasmanageSSLcerticates.

Support or VMware ESX/ESXi 4.x to VMware ESXi 5.0 Upgrades

UpdateManager5.0alsoprovidessupportforupgradingVMwareESX/ESXi4.xhoststoVMwareESXi5.0.

AdministratorscanuseUpdateManagertoexpeditethemigrationofexistingVMwareESX/ESXi4.xhoststo

VMwareESXi5.0,includingmigratingthird-partycomponentssuchasCiscoNexus1000VandEMCPowerPath.

Improved VMware Tools Upgrade

InadditiontofacilitatingtheupgradeofVMwareESX/ESXihosts,UpdateManageralsofacilitatestheupdating

o VMware Tools running inside virtual machines by allowing the update to be scheduled in advance and

perormed at a convenient time without requiring the administrator to be present or the update.


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CnclusinvSphere 5.0 continues to build on the rich set o capabilities provided in vSphere 4.1. vSphere 5.0 supports

virtualmachineswithupto32vCPUsand1TBofRAM,makingitpossibletovirtualizeeventhebiggestworkloads.Alongwiththeimpressivevirtualmachinesize,vSphere5.0furtherextendsthefeaturesand

capabilitiesofthevirtualmachinetoincludesupportfor3Dgraphics,USB3.0devices,andsmartcardreaders.

vSphere5.0providesanewandimprovedcommand-lineinterfacethatforthersttimeprovidesaconsistent

commandstructureforbothlocalandremotemanagementofVMwareESXihosts.Thenewservices-based

rewallimprovesthesecurityoftheVMwareESXihostandoersanimproveduserexperience.ThenewImage

BuilderputsanendtothechallengeofcustomizingVMwareESXiinstallationimagesbyprovidingaPowerCLI

snap-in,enablingadministratorstocreateandmaintaincustomizedinstallationimages.TheAutoDeployserver

streamlinesthedeploymentandcongurationoflargenumbersofVMwareESXihostsbyleveragingthe

PXE-basednetworkbootinfrastructuretodeployVMwareESXionthey.TosupportAutoDeploy,vCenter

HostProleshavebeenupdatedtoincludeadditionalcongurationparameterssuchasiSCSI,FCoE,

multipathingandkernel-levelsettings.Inaddition,HostProlesnowincludessupportforper-hostanswerles

thatcanbeusedtogetherwithAutoDeploytoapplyhost-specicsettings.Finally,thenewvSphere5.0Update

Manager also includes many improvements and enhancements to greatly improve your ability to upgrade, patch

and maintain your hosts as well as upgrade the virtual machine hardware and the VMware Tools running inside

your virtual machines.

vMwr, i.HillviewAvenuePaloAltoCAUSATel8-8-Fax--wwwvmwarecomCopyright2VMware,IncAllrightsreservedThisproductisprotectedbyUSandinternationalcopyrightandintellectualpropertylawsVMwareproductsarecoveredbyoneormorepatentslistedat

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