VMware Administrators who use VMware Update Manager (and I highly recommend its use), will have noticed that 10 new patches were released for VMware vSphere on 4/1/2010.  A few for the Cisco Nexus 1000V VEM, and the remainder of the updates are for ESX(i) 4.0.

Two of the patches which I’d like to highlight, ESX400-201003401-BG and ESXi400-201003401-BG, make some required changes to the virtual infrastructure which you should be aware of.  The .VMDK file naming convention, introduced originally in ESX 2.x, is being retired in favor of the original naming convention .DSK which existed prior to ESX 2.x.  The reasoning for this is not yet known but as the saying goes, “You can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs.”  So suck it up; it’s not all about you.

How does this affect you?  The impacts will vary depending on your role with VMware Virtual Infrastructure:

• VI Administrators will need to update any scripts which may be impacted.
• 3rd party tool vendors will need to update any code which references .VMDK files.
• Book authors would be advised to perform a mass “find and replace” before their next printing.  For tactical advice on how to do this, speak to Scott Herold or Ron Oglesby as they have experience in this.  As for books and articles already published on VMware disk technologies using the .VMDK naming scheme, refer to the omelette statement above.
• Lab Manager and View environments are not yet compatible with the file naming convention change.  An updated release for each of these products should be available by Q4 this year, Q1 2011 at the latest.

I am completely in favor of this change.  I never did adapt fully to the migration from .DSK to .VMDK, so this will be just like old times for me.  We need more radical ideas like this to break the chains of complacency.  From a sales perspective, VMware can totally pitch changes like these as innovation which keeps them several steps ahead of their competitors.  So what’s next?  Inside sources tell me HA naming is going back to its roots:  Hello Dynamic Availability Service!

For more information, please follow this link. 😀

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