Transcript
I'm excited to share the general availability of Stormagic SVHCI 2.3. This is the latest release of our x86 server virtualization platform, and the software is now available. The new version delivers a key general-purpose core capability, that is, the OVA package and OVF file import and export. SVHCI 2.3 now supports the import of both OVF files and OVA packages in SVHCI hosts. The software allows users to export a VM in OVF format, either using the current state of the VM when it's powered off, or using an existing VM snapshot. The main value for users is the enhanced mobility and portability of VMs, both across SVHCI clusters and between SVHCI and other server virtualization platforms. It solves a very practical problem – how do I, as a user, move a virtual machine that I've created in one server virtualization platform over to another? This significantly lowers barriers to switching away from VMware and moving over to Stormagic SVHCI. It facilitates the distribution of pre-configured VM templates, so-called golden image deployments. This is especially beneficial for environments with a large number of sites, such as distributed enterprises. Users can also export a VM so it can be stored off-cluster, as a redundant copy to the original, either on a network file share or a cloud object storage, so that it can be restored later via an import workflow, if required. And now, let me show you the software. Here we have a deployment of a two-node, highly available cluster of two SVHCI hosts and a witness. We are running SVHCI 2.3, based on the final GA build. The software is installed on two Snook Extreme Edge 3000 series servers, each one with an AMD Ryzen CPU, 48GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage capacity. On the main menu, we navigate to the virtual machine view, where we can see the inventory of virtual machines deployed and managed on this two-node cluster. Let's look at application server, VM1. By selecting the VM, we can drill down into the VM information view for more details. In this case, we have a single-socket VM with two vCPUs, 4GB of RAM, and two virtual disks on one storage controller. The VM also has three snapshots associated with it. The export to OVF template action is located on the left-hand side contextual menu for each VM. From this view, we can now export the VM. Since the VM is powered on, we can proceed to export from one of the existing snapshots. We are allowed to retain the original MAC address settings for this VM, if required. Once a VM export task is started, the software generates each single file separately. Via my browser, I now save each file one by one on my computer's local file system. Here we can see the OVF file being generated and saved, and here we can see also the manifest file being generated and downloaded to my local computer. Registered at the bottom of the screen is an export task. We can see that the OVF resources have been exported and the task is now complete. Viewing the file folder on my computer, we can confirm that all of the files are now downloaded successfully. Now let's export from the current state of the virtual machine. In order to do so, we must first power it down. Once the virtual machine is powered off, we can navigate back to the export OVF template. From there, we can see that the current state option is actually now available to us. Let's assume we want to create a golden image template from this VM. In this case, we rename the file accordingly. We also exclude the retention of MAC address and proceed with the export task. Again, the system will generate each single file separately, and I save those locally to my computer's file system. We can confirm that the OVF resources have been downloaded with the relevant export task indicating completion in green. And here's our exported VM in OVF format that we can use as a template for golden image deployments across a distributed edge environment. Once done, we can now go back and power on our VM to successfully resume its services. Okay, now let's see how easy it is to import a VM in SVHCI. From the virtual machine inventory view on the left-hand side contextual menu, we can initiate the import OVF OVA wizard. The first part of the workflow is about source selection. Users can upload an OVA or OVF from their computer, or upload an OVA from a net resource by providing the respective URL. In our case, we select from my computer file system, like so. Once complete, the SVHCI product UI will highlight the selected files. In the next screen of the wizard, we can define the name of our VM. Let's name it application server VM2. In the virtual machine settings, users can choose to protect the VM once it is created, or retain the MAC address and or the VM UUID should those parameters be available in the OVA file. In the following section, users can define the virtual disk and network mappings for the newly imported virtual machine. And the final step of the wizard provides a detailed overview of the VM that is about to be imported. In this particular screen, we can see the entire configuration of virtual hardware, all relevant networking, storage controller, and virtual disk settings. And also if there are any CD-ROM devices attached. Once confirmed by the user, an import task will be started by the software, and we can track the progress in the table below. We can see that the import task has now completed successfully. The software will take us back to the VM inventory view, where we can observe that a VM has been created by the name application server VM2 with all the relevant settings. Now the only thing left for us to do is to power on the VM to start the guest operating system. And in summary, the product now provides an easy and intuitive way to import virtual machines into SVHCI hyperconverged infrastructure. The OVF and OVA import and export mechanism delivers enhanced mobility and portability of VMs, both across SVHCI clusters and between SVHCI and other server virtualization platforms.
