FREE VSPHERE 6.5 HOST RESOURCES DEEP DIVE E-BOOK
In June of this year, Niels and I published the vSphere 6.5 Host Resources Deep Dive, and the community was buzzing. Twitter exploded, and many community members provided rave reviews. This excitement caught Rubriks attention, and they decided to support the community by giving away 2000 free copies of the printed version at VMworld. The interest was overwhelming, before the end of the second signing session in Barcelona we ran out of books. A lot of people reached out to Rubrik and us to find out if they could get a free book as well. This gave us an idea, and we sat down with Rubrik and the VMUG organization to determine how to cater the community. We are proud to announce that you can download the e-book version (PDF only) for free at rubrik.com. Just sign up and download your full e-book copy here. Spread the word! And if you like, thank @Rubrik and @myVMUG for their efforts to help the VMware community advance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4spq5B4wtg
WHAT IF THE VM MEMORY CONFIG EXCEEDS THE MEMORY CAPACITY OF THE PHYSICAL NUMA NODE?
This week I had the pleasure to talk to a customer about NUMA use-cases and a very interesting config came up. They have a VM with a particular memory configuration that exceeds the ESXi host NUMA node memory configuration. This scenario is covered in the vSphere 6.5 Host Resources Deep Dive, excerpt below. Memory Configuration The scenario described happens in multi-socket systems that are used to host monster-VMs. Extreme memory footprint VMs are getting more common by the day. The system is equipped with two CPU packages. Each CPU package contains twelve cores. The system has a memory configuration of 128 GB in total. The NUMA nodes are symmetrically configured and contain 64 GB of memory each. However, if the VM requires 96 GB of memory, a maximum of 64 GB can be obtained from a single NUMA node. This means that 32 GB of memory could become remote if the vCPUs of that VM can fit inside one NUMA node. In this case, the VM is configured with 8 vCPUs. The VM fits from a vCPU perspective inside one NUMA node, and therefore the NUMA scheduler configures for this VM a single virtual proximity domain (VPD) and a single a load-balancing group which is internally referred to as a physical proximity domain (PPD).
A VSPHERE FOCUSED GUIDE TO THE INTEL XEON SCALABLE FAMILY - MEMORY SUBSYSTEM
The Intel Xeon Scalable Family introduces a new platform (Purley). The most prominent change regarding system design is the memory subsystem. More Memory Bandwidth and Consistency in Speed The new memory subsystem supports the same number of DIMMs per CPU as the previous models. However, it’s wider and less deep. What I mean by that is that the last platform (Grantley) supported up to three DIMMs per channel (DPC) and made use of four channels. In total, the Grantley platform supported up to twelve DIMMs per CPU. Purley increases the number of channels from four to six but reduces the numbers of supported DIMMs per channel from three to two. Although this sounds like a potato, potato; tomato, tomato discussion it provides a significant increase in bandwidth while ensuring consistency in speed during a scaling up exercise. Let’s take a closer look. DIMMs per Memory Channel Depending on the DIMM slot configuration of the server board, multiple DIMMs are supported per channel. The E5-2600 V-series supports up to 3 DIMMs per channel (3 DPC). Using more DIMMs per channel provides the largest capacity, but unfortunately, it impacts the operational speed of memory. A DIMM groups memory chips into ranks. DIMMs come in three rank configurations; single-rank, dual-rank or quad-rank configuration, ranks are denoted as (xR). With the addition of each rank, the electrical load on the channel increases. And as more ranks are used in a memory channel, memory speed drops restricting the use of additional memory. Therefore in certain configurations, DIMMs will run slower than their listed maximum speeds. This reduction in speed occurs when 3 DIMMs per channel is used.
A VSPHERE FOCUSED GUIDE TO THE INTEL XEON SCALABLE FAMILY
Intel released the much-anticipated Skylake Server CPU this year. Moving away from the E5-2600-v moniker, Intel names the new iteration of its server CPU the Intel Xeon Scalable Family. On top of this it uses precious metal categories such as Platinum and Gold to identify different types and abilities. Upholding the tradition, the new Xeon family contains more cores than the previous Xeon version. The new top-of-the-line CPU offers 28 cores on a single processor die, memory speeds are now supported up to 2666 MHz. However, the biggest appeal for vSphere datacenters is the new “Purley” platform and its focus on increasing bandwidth between possibly every component possible. In this series, we are going to look at the new Intel Xeon Scalable family microarchitecture and which functions help to advance vSphere datacenters.
VMWARE CLOUD ON AWS TECHNICAL OVERVIEW
Please note that this information can be outdated due to the ongoing changes of this cloud service. Please consult the https://cloud.vmware.com/vmc-aws/roadmap for recent information about the latest release Yesterday we launched the VMware Cloud on AWS service. VMware Cloud on AWS allows you to run your applications across private, public, and hybrid cloud environments based on VMware vSphere, with optimized access to AWS services. The Cloud SDDC consists of vSphere, NSX and vSAN technology to provide you a familiar environment which can be managed an operated with your current tool and skill set. By leveraging bare-metal AWS infrastructure the Cloud SDDC can scale in an unprecedented way.
GET YOUR FREE BOOK AT VMWORLD
At VMworld, the presenters of the following sessions will be giving away free copies of the Host Deep Dive book to the audience. Saturday Performance Bootcamp Mark Achtemichuk Saturday, Aug 26, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. More information about pre-VMworld Performance Bootcamp Sunday An Introduction to VMware Software-Defined Storage [STO2138QU] Lee Dilworth, Principal Systems Engineer, VMware Sunday, Aug 27, 4:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. | Oceanside C, Level 2 Monday A Deep Dive into vSphere 6.5 Core Storage Features and Functionality [SER1143BU] Cody Hosterman, Technical Director–VMware Solutions, Pure Storage Cormac Hogan, Director - Chief Technologist, VMware Monday, Aug 28, 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | Mandalay Bay Ballroom G, Level 2 Extreme Performance Series: Benchmarking 101 [SER2723BUR] Joshua Schnee, Senior Staff Engineer @ VMware Performance, VMware Mark Achtemichuk, Staff Engineer, Performance, VMware Monday, Aug 28, 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. | Mandalay Bay Ballroom B, Level 2 Maximum Performance with Mark Achtemichuk [VIRT2368GU] Mark Achtemichuk, Staff Engineer, Performance, VMware Monday, Aug 28, 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. | Reef E, Level 2 The Top 10 Things to Know About vSAN [STO1264BU] Duncan Epping, Chief Technologist, VMware Cormac Hogan, Director - Chief Technologist, VMware Monday, Aug 28, 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. | Mandalay Bay Ballroom H, Level 2 VMware vSAN: From 2 Nodes to 64 Nodes, Architecting and Operating vSAN Like a VCDX for Scalability and Simplicity [STO2114BU] Greg Mulholland, Principal Systems Engineer, VMware Jeff Wong, Customer Success Architect, VMware Monday, Aug 28, 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. | Surf E, Level 2 Tuesday Extreme Performance Series: Performance Best Practices [SER2724BU] Reza Taheri, Principal Engineer, VMware Mark Achtemichuk, Staff Engineer, Performance, VMware Tuesday, Aug 29, 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. | Oceanside D, Level 2 Wednesday vSphere 6.5 Host Resources Deep Dive: Part 2 [SER1872BU] Frank Denneman, Senior Staff Architect, VMware Niels Hagoort, Owner, HIC (Hagoort ICT Consultancy) Wednesday, Aug 30, 8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. | Breakers E, Level 2 Extreme Performance Series: Benchmarking 101 [SER2723BUR] Joshua Schnee, Senior Staff Engineer @ VMware Performance, VMware Mark Achtemichuk, Staff Engineer, Performance, VMware Wednesday, Aug 30, 8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. | Lagoon L, Level 2 vSAN Networking and Design Best Practices [STO3276GU] John Nicholson, Senior Technical Marketing Manager, VMware Wednesday, Aug 30, 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | Reef C, Level 2 vSAN Hardware Deep Dive Panel [STO1540PU] Ed Goggin, Staff Engineer 2, VMware David Edwards, Principal Engineer, Director Solutions, Resurgent Technology Ken Werneburg, Group Manager Technical Marketing, VMware Jeffrey Taylor, Technical Director, VMware Ron Scott-Adams, Hyper-Converged Systems Engineer, VMware Wednesday, Aug 30, 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. | Mandalay Bay Ballroom D, Level 2 A Closer Look at vSAN Networking Design and Configuration Considerations [STO1193BU] Cormac Hogan, Director - Chief Technologist, VMware Andreas Scherr, Senior Solution Architect, VMware Wednesday, Aug 30, 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. | Mandalay Bay Ballroom G, Level 2 Thursday Virtual Volumes Technical Deep Dive [STO2446BU] Patrick Dirks, Sr. Manager, VMware Pete Flecha, Sr Technical Marketing Architect, VMware Thursday, Aug 31, 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. | Oceanside B, Level 2 Book Signing We will be doing two book signing sessions as well. At the Rubrik booth #412 on Monday, Aug 28, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. At the VMworld Book store on Tuesday, Aug 29, 11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Or just feel free to approach us when you see us walking by.
REGISTER NOW FOR VMWARE CLOUD ON AWS TECHNICAL DEEP DIVE SESSION
I noticed that our technical deep dive session on VMware Cloud on AWS was added to the content catalog of VMworld. In this session, Ray Budavari and I will cover the VMware Cloud on AWS infrastructure in detail. For the first time, we are allowed to uncover details about the host configuration, the vSAN infrastructure and of course network topology. We explore advanced features such as Elastic DRS and Autoremediation HA. The last 15 minutes of our session allows you to ask questions about VMC. Please register if you don’t want to miss this session. Both Ray and I have a full schedule, therefore we are unable to schedule a repeat of this session during VMworld US. Session details: VMware Cloud on AWS: A Technical Deep Dive [LHC2384BU] Frank Denneman, Senior Staff Architect, VMware Ray Budavari, Senior Staff Technical Product Manager, VMware Tuesday, Aug 29, 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Session Type: Breakout Session Track: Integrate Public Clouds Integrate Public Clouds: Leverage Hybrid Clouds Product and Topics: NSX, vCenter, vSAN, vSphere Technical Level: Technical – Advanced Session Hashtag: #LHC2384BU
VMWARE CLOUD ON AWS - PREDICTABLE CAPACITY PROVISIONING
In preparation for the VMworld Session LHC2971BU - Managing Your Hybrid Cloud with VMware Cloud on AWS which I’m co-presenting with Emad Younis, I asked the following question on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FrankDenneman/status/889841095768776704 And the number of answers were overwhelming. The stories were a bit underwhelming. Funny to see that we strive to automate every single step in the process. Guys like Alan, Luc, and William help the community to create scripted installs and configuration of the ESXi host. Creating a consistent, human-error free, rapid process. Shaving off valuable time of the time-consuming server provisioning process. Some organizations incorporate the vRealize suite to create a consistent user experience for the entire IT services portfolio. Interestingly enough, the overall lead time seems mostly impacted by internal acquisition processes. To give a few examples: https://twitter.com/j0sema/status/889945617312735232 https://twitter.com/tx_drewdad/status/889849858701524992 https://twitter.com/VTsnowboarder42/status/889995588669984772 https://twitter.com/PvdBree/status/889863788983455744 And the list goes on and on. In most organizations, the procurement process is rigid, well-defined process. However, the lead time of the acquisition process is either unpredictable and inconsistent. The overall message is that it cripples the agility of the IT organization. IT organizations need to react fast to the business needs. Resource management of current workload is difficult enough, figuring out what to expect in the upcoming months is challenging. Unfortunately, the introduction of new workload does not follow a linear demand curve. To cater the (possible) future needs of the customer, the order is either doubled in size, or onboarding of new workloads is gated. Either impacting the bottom-line of the company or the ability to facilitate IT services properly. https://twitter.com/BobbyFantast1c/status/889845274805448704 In essence, the CAPEX element of server resource acquisition massively impacts or hinders the execution ability of the IT organization. Strategizing CAPEX\OPEX is not a part of the core focus of many admins and architects, it does affect their means of execution. As demonstrated by the many tweets. With VMware Cloud on AWS, the host resource acquisition process shifts from CAPEX to OPEX. Removing the inconsistent and unpredictable procurement process, allowing for a faster, consistent and predictable method of providing compute, storage and networking resources. VMware Cloud on AWS (VMC) makes my resource-management heart beat faster. By leveraging the AWS operation model, the SDDC cluster running on the AWS infrastructure is resizable by a click of a button. Right-click on the cluster and select resize. Just select the number of hosts you want to add and within moments you will get new dedicated physical hardware added to your cluster. Ready to provide the resources your new workloads require. Resize means you can remove the resources as well, which in result your costs will go down as well. Due to the combined fleet management of AWS and VMC, the new ESXi hosts are fully configured and ready to welcome new workload. All VMkernel and logical networks are automatically configured and made available. The vSAN datastore is automatically expanded with the host-local NVMe flash devices provided by the new hosts. DRS detects the new physical resources and automatically rebalances the cluster, provided the most optimal resource availability. Elastic DRS and Autoremedation HA allows for an automatize method or adding and removing dedicated hardware resources, but these topics will be covered in a different article. From a resource management perspective, a mindset shift will happen. VMC allows you to reduce the time spent on infrastructure configuration and management and allows you to focus more on resource consumption. What cluster configuration is required in the upcoming months? What is my burst strategy? Unfortunately, I can’t go into detail as the service is not released yet. VMworld boasts an exciting line up of VMware Cloud on AWS sessions. I will be hosting a meet the expert on resource management at both VMworlds, sign up if you want to talk more about this exciting new technology
HOST DEEP DIVE FIRST MAJOR MILESTONE
Exactly one month ago Niels and I published the VMware vSphere 6.5 Host Deep Dive and it is a major success. Within 30 days we sold over 4000 copies of the book. Building consistent high-performing ESXi hosts remains a strong focus point for the virtual community. The attention for the book is overwhelming. The hashtag #HostDeepDive felt like it was trending. Tweets from around the world letting us know the book arrived, from Brasil to New Zealand. https://twitter.com/DemitasseNZ/status/884599021980991488 The book seems to be a beloved companion during the summer holiday. Christian Mohn and Erik Bussink engaged in a competition to provide us the best vacation shot possible. Mohn: https://twitter.com/h0bbel/status/886158966018977793 Bussink https://twitter.com/ErikBussink/status/886501115201818624 Brad Tompkins of the VMUG organization joined the party by giving away twenty copies to the audience of the Indy VMUG last week. https://twitter.com/kmruddy/status/887293261714522112 Amazon awarded the book with many accolades, being the number one book in the network section and at one point it was in the top 25 of computer books overall. Quite an achievement! The absolute fantastic reviews help a lot. Thank you all for submitting a review! Due to the popularity of the book, Amazon offered us help with creating an ebook version of the book. They put their professional team to work two weeks ago, and we expect to have it online soon. Stay tuned!
KINDLE EBOOK HOST DEEP DIVE AVAILABLE
Funny enough I’ve just published an article announcing the major milestone of 4000 hard copies sold within the first month of release. I just received confirmation that the Kindle e-book version is available at the Amazon Kindle Store. It is scheduled to appear on various Amazon sites. Please check out your local Amazon for the best offer. Amazon US Amazon DE Amazon NL Amazon UK Amazon India The most popular e-book version of the cluster deep dive was Kindle, and therefore we focused on getting the Kindle e-book out as fast as possible. The professionals of Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing created an awesome e-book version. Go check it out.