VMware’s 3.1 release brings significant enhancements across multiple areas. Here’s a comprehensive overview of the new features:
Hardware and Infrastructure Improvements
Storage Enhancements
- Solid State Drive (SSD) Boot Support
- Special ESX Server version for OEM vendors
- Enables ESX Server hardware appliances
- Offers smaller form-factors and improved reliability
- Dell and IBM support expected in Q3 2007
Networking Capabilities
- Support for 10Gbit Ethernet network cards
- TCP/IP Offload Engine (TOE) network card support
- Enhanced network load balancing algorithms
- IPv6 support in virtual networking
- Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) integration
Resource Scaling
- Support for up to 200 hosts and 2000 virtual machines
- Increased memory support:
- 128GB RAM per host
- 64GB RAM per virtual machine
Management and Operations
DMotion Improvements
- Hot migration between ESX 3.1 hosts via Ethernet
- No mandatory shared SAN LUN requirement
- Backwards compatibility with ESX 2.5.x hosts
Update Manager 1.0
- Automated patch management system
- Supports both host and VM updates
- Compatible with Windows and Red Hat Enterprise Linux
- Automatic snapshot and rollback capabilities
- Integration with Shavlik Technologies
Enhanced Security
- New Lockdown Mode
- Disables local admin access after VirtualCenter 2.1 remote control
- Improved disaster recovery capabilities for guest OS
Infrastructure Management
Server Consolidation Tools
- Built-in consolidation advisor
- Physical-to-virtual analysis capabilities
- VM placement optimization
- Integrated with VMware Converter 4.0
Power Management
- Distributed Power Management feature
- Automated host power optimization
- Smart VMotion integration for resource efficiency
Storage and Network Integration
Storage Support
- SATA storage device support
- N_Port ID Virtualization (NPIV)
- VCB support for iSCSI SANs
Network Integration
- CDP support for network topology discovery
- Potential third-party virtual switch support
- Para-virtualization guest OS support
This release represents a significant step forward in VMware’s virtualization capabilities, particularly in areas of management automation, hardware support, and infrastructure scaling.