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Enhanced Linked Mode (ELM) vs Hybrid Linked Mode (HLM)

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In the last few weeks, albeit due to VMworld, I have seen a large number of inquiries from customers regarding the existing vCenter Enhanced Linked Mode (ELM) as it compares to the newly announced Hybrid Linked Mode (HLM) feature. In some cases, certain assumptions were being made based on what was initially announced and I think that also led to some confusion on what the future holds for both of these capabilities. Hopefully with this article, I can help clarify the differences between ELM and HLM and their respective use cases. I will also quickly touch upon some of the future thinkings for both of these features as they were discussed at several VMworld Sessions both in the US and Europe.

Disclaimer: Hopefully folks are familiar with the standard VMworld Disclaimer slide that is shown before any session which states features are subject to change and must not be included in contracts, purchase orders or sales agreement of any kind. I am sure many of you have memorized it by now, but this is a good time to re-iterate that point, especially as we talk about futures 🙂

Current

Lets start off by reviewing what we have today and explaining the differences between ELM and HLM.

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Exploring new VCSA VAMI API w/PowerCLI: Part 1

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One of the most most exciting developments in vSphere 6.5 with respect to Automation is the introduction of several new REST APIs included in the vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA). In addition to covering some of the existing capabilities like vSphere Content Library and Tagging, customers will now have access to a new basic Virtual Machine management API that has been greatly simplified compared to the traditional vSphere SOAP API and access to the VCSA's Virtual Appliance Management Interface API, also known to most as the VAMI.

I am particular excited about the VAMI REST API as this is where customers will be able to manage the entire full lifecycle of their VCSA/PSC which will eventually include all Day 2 operations as well as Install, Upgrade, Migrate and Recovery capabilities. This initial release of the VAMI REST API covers most of the functionality found in the current VAMI UI by going to https://[VCSA]:5480 after your VCSA or PSC has been deployed.

Not having spent a whole lot of time with the new VAMI REST API, I figured a good way for me to learn more about the APIs was to consume it and what better way than using PowerCLI? With PowerCLI 6.5 R1 (Windows version) release, there is a new Connect-CisServer and Get-CisService cmdlet that provides you access to these new REST APIs including the VAMI APIs. As I explore the new VAMI APIs, I plan to create a new VAMI PowerCLI Module that contains functions exerising some of the new APIs that you see today in the VAMI UI.

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New vSphere 6.5 APIs worth checking out

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With the upcoming new release of vSphere, there are quite a few new vSphere APIs to look forward to and consume from an Automation standpoint. Similiar to what I had done in the past with previous major releases of vSphere, here is a list of of some of the new vSphere APIs (SOAP based) that I think are worth checking out whether they are new features vSphere 6.5 will introduced or new enhancements to existing functionality which will benefit our vSphere Administrators and/or Developers.

If you would like to see the complete list of new vSphere 6.5 (SOAP based) APIs, be sure to check out the vSphere 6.5 API Reference Guide which will include a "What's New" section on all the new Managed Objects, Methods, Properties, etc. when vSphere 6.5 is generally available.

CryptoManager / CryptoManagerKmip - VM Encryption is one of the new features in vSphere 6.5 and with these APIs, you will be able to manage and configure the VM Encryption settings including associating with KMIP server. For enabling/disabling VM Encryption at the VM and disk level, have a look at VirtualMachine->crypto and VirtualMachine->deviceChange->backing property.

  • GenerateClientCsr
  • GenerateKey
  • GenerateSelfSignedClientCert
  • ListKmipServers
  • MarkDefault
  • RegisterKmipServer
  • RemoveKmipServer
  • RetrieveClientCert
  • RetrieveClientCsr
  • RetrieveKmipServerCert
  • RetrieveKmipServersStatus_Task
  • RetrieveSelfSignedClientCert
  • UpdateKmipServer
  • UpdateKmsSignedCsrClientCert
  • UpdateSelfSignedClientCert
  • UploadClientCert
  • UploadKmipServerCert

FailoverClusterConfigurator - To setup the new vCenter Server High Availability (VCHA) feature which is only available in the VCSA, use these APIs which include deploying and configuring the passive and witness nodes.

  • configureVcha_Task
  • createPassiveNode_Task
  • createWitnessNode_Task
  • deployVcha_Task
  • destroyVcha_Task
  • getVchaConfig
  • prepareVcha_Task

FailoverClusterManager -  Have a look at these APIs to initiate a failover or view the current VCHA configuration.

  • getClusterMode
  • GetVchaClusterHealth
  • initiateFailover_Task
  • setClusterMode_Task

HostVStorageObjectManager - An API only feature in vSphere 6.5 which will allow you to create and manage Virtual Disks as a "First Class" citizen. This particular API is for managing First Class Disks (FCD) when talking directly to an ESXi host.

  • HostCloneVStorageObject_Task
  • HostCreateDisk_Task
  • HostDeleteVStorageObject_Task
  • HostExtendDisk_Task
  • HostInflateDisk_Task
  • HostListVStorageObject
  • HostReconcileDatastoreInventory_Task
  • HostRegisterDisk
  • HostRelocateVStorageObject_Task
  • HostRenameVStorageObject
  • HostRetrieveVStorageObject
  • HostRetrieveVStorageObjectState
  • HostScheduleReconcileDatastoreInventory

VcenterVStorageObjectManager - An API only feature in vSphere 6.5 which will allow you to create and manage Virtual Disks as a "First Class" citizen. This particular API is for managing First Class Disks (FCD) when talking directly to a vCenter Server.

  • AttachTagToVStorageObject
  • CloneVStorageObject_Task
  • CreateDisk_Task
  • DeleteVStorageObject_Task
  • DetachTagFromVStorageObject
  • ExtendDisk_Task
  • InflateDisk_Task
  • ListTagsAttachedToVStorageObject
  • ListVStorageObject
  • ListVStorageObjectsAttachedToTag
  • ReconcileDatastoreInventory_Task
  • RegisterDisk
  • RelocateVStorageObject_Task
  • RenameVStorageObject
  • RetrieveVStorageObject
  • RetrieveVStorageObjectState
  • ScheduleReconcileDatastoreInventory

DatastoreNamespaceManager->ConvertNamespacePathToUuidPath() - From a troubleshooting standpoint, do you ever wish you can easily translate the human readable VM path (e.g. /vmfs/volumes/vsanDatastore/myVM/myVM.vmx to the VSAN/VVOL equivalent identifier which is UUID based? Well, this is now possible with this new API!

AuthorizationManager->FetchUserPrivilegeOnEntities() - This is a pretty neat API as it allows you to easily query an existing user to see the current privileges has been assigned. This could could come in handy to quickly audit a particular privilege for a user.

HostImageConfigManager->installDate() - Have a look at this blog post Super easy way of getting ESXi installation date in vSphere 6.5 for more details.

HostImageConfigManager->fetchSoftwarePackages() - This is another nice API to easily retrieve all the VIBs installed on an ESXi host. This is the equilvenet of running "esxcli software vib list" and you will now have all the additional metadata info that was historically only available via ESXCLI. Here is an example PowerCLI function called Get-ESXInstalledVib which exercises this new API.

HostStorageSystem->UpdateVmfsUnmapPriority() - Have a look at the blog post Configure new automatic Space Reclamation (VMFS UNMAP) using vSphere 6.5 APIs for more details.

VirtualMachine->{AttachDisk_Task(),DetachDisk_Task()} - This API allows you to attach and detach First Class Disks that you may have created earlier using the FCD APIs as shown above.

VirtualMachine->config->bootOptions->EfiSecureBootEnabled - To take advantage of the new VM Secure Boot feature in vSphere 6.5, you simply just toggle this property. Here are two PowerCLI functions called Get-SecureBoot/Set-SecureBoot which exercises this new API.

In addition, vSphere 6.5 also introduces a new REST-based API that covers several areas such as basic VM Lifecycle Management (simliar to that of the existing vSphere SOAP-based API), vSphere Content Library, vSphere Tagging and Virtual Appliance Management for the vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA). You can interact with these new APIs by using any of the vSphere Automation SDKs (.Net, Java, Python, Ruby or Perl) or even just simply using cURL from the command-line. It is really that easy!

Lastly, to make exploring these new REST-based APIs easier for both administrators as well as developers, there is now a new API Explorer that is included specifically with the VCSA in vSphere 6.5. You can think of it like a vSphere MOB 2.0 but way easier to use. Some of you may recognize the interface as shown in the screenshot below which uses the Swagger UI. This interface allows you to quickly browse through all the APIs, no need to refer to the documentation as the APIs are self-documented and made available in this interface. Best of all, you can even try out the APIs by simply logging into your vCenter Server and then selecting an API and clicking on the "Try it out now" button!

To access the API Explorer, you simply open a web browser and enter the following URL: https://[VC-HOSTNAME-OR-IP]/apiexplorer/

vsphere-6-5-apis-apiexplorer
There will also be native PowerCLI cmdlets (Get-CisService) to these new REST API and below is a quick example of retrieving the version (GET /system/version) of the VCSA:

$vcsaVersion = Get-CisService -Name  'com.vmware.appliance.system.version'
$vcsaVersion.get()

vsphere-6-5-apis-powercli