VMware vSphere+ Release Notes

What's New July 28, 2022

Free Trial of vSphere+ is now available

• VMware offers a 15-day free trial of vSphere+. During the free trial, you can explore all the vSphere+ capabilities except upgrading the vCenter Server from the VMC Console.
• To start the free trial, go to https://vmc.vmware.com > Log out > vSphere+ > Learn More > Try vSphere+ For Free.

What's New July 12, 2022

vSphere Advantage is now vSphere+. vSphere+ is generally available, with newly added features:

• VMware vSAN+® subscription and SaaS services are available with vSphere+
  • You can now purchase vSAN+ subscriptions and use your existing vSAN clusters with vSphere+. You can use your existing vSAN licenses to purchase subscriptions.
  • After you purchase a vSAN+ subscription, you can view and monitor the vSAN clusters from the VMware Cloud Console.
  • vSphere+ supports vSAN clusters only with a vSAN+ subscription. vSAN clusters that use licenses are not supported with vSphere+. So, subscribe to vSAN+ now!
• Manage the Desired State Configurations of your vCenter Servers
  • Create profiles to define the desired state/golden standard for your vCenter Server instances.
  • Check Compliance of multiple vCenter Server instances and identify drifts within minutes.
  • Schedule routine checks to ensure your vCenter Server instances stay compliant.
• vSphere+ now includes VMware Tanzu Standard Runtime Edition in the subscription

  You can now transform your existing virtual infrastructure into an enterprise-ready, self-service Kubernetes platform.

Known Issues

• Cannot assign license keys to an already converted vSAN cluster

  Operation fails when using vSAN license keys within the same vCenter server that has been converted to vSAN+.

  Workaround: Do not assign license keys to vSAN clusters that are converted to vSAN+.

• Desired State Configuration will display error if used with vCenter Servers below version 7.0 Update 3f

  A minimum vCenter Server version of 7.0 Update 3f is required to use Desired State Configuration. Performing actions on vCenter Server instances below this version will result in failure. 

  Workaround: Update your vCenter Server instances to a minimum of version 7.0 Update 3f to start using Desired State Configuration.

What's New June 27, 2022

Compatibility with VMware Site Recovery Manager, VMware vSAN, and VMware NSX

• You can now use Site Recovery Manager, vSAN (subscription), and NSX with vCenter Server instances subscribed to vSphere Advantage.
• You can manage Site Recovery Manager license keys in the Administration > Licensing section of the vSphere Client and through the vCenter Server licensing APIs.

What's New June 8, 2022

Download Software Updates from the VMware Cloud Services console

You can now download the latest supported versions of vCenter Server and ESXi directly from the VMware Cloud Services console.

What's New May 25, 2022

Update your vCenter Server in a single click

• An easy-to-use interface to update your vCenter Server instances in a single click
• Conveniently check prerequisites in advance to prepare your vCenter Server for the update
• Automatic rollback and restore of vCenter Server instances without any manual intervention in case of an upgrade failure
• Faster troubleshooting of update issues by automatic log sharing with VMware Support

Known Issues

• Prerequisite checks for the vCenter Server upgrades fail if the network details are edited several times

  When you edit the network details, a new virtual ethernet card is attached to the vCenter Server, which may hit the maximum supported count after several edits.

  Workaround: Delete the older, unused virtual ethernet cards on the vCenter Server VM and click Check Prerequisites.

What's New May 12, 2022

Create VMs using templates

vSphere Advantage now provides the capability to create VMs by using pre-defined local templates, allowing you to scale your VM creation.

What's New December 16, 2021

VMware is pleased to offer VMware vSphere® Advantage™ services in limited regions. With vSphere Advantage, you can:

• Transition to subscription-based consumption for your vSphere deployments
  • Purchase vSphere though a subscription license. Pay based on your usage with flexible subscription options.
  • Eliminate license key management through keyless entitlement
  • Rely on a core-based licensing meter instead of socket-based licensing
• Centrally operate your entire vSphere real estate
  • Securely connect your on-premises vCenter Server instances to VMware Cloud via vCenter Cloud Gateway. This requires only outbound 443 (Https). You don't need to set up VPN and you can use regular network connection inbound to your vCenter Server instances.
  • View the on-premises vSphere inventory for your distributed deployments through a single pane of glass. Monitor your security posture and alerts through a central console.
  • Create and manage VMs for your distributed deployments through a central console
• Streamline vSphere infrastructure maintenance
  • Avoid time-intensive vCenter Server upgrading and patching. With vSphere Advantage, VMware manages your vCenter Server upgrades and patches for you.

Known Issues

• Network proxy configuration changes you make on the gateway do not appear for the services

  When you change the network proxy configuration on the gateway, the services do not refresh to the latest proxy configuration, leading to failure during gateway registration.

  You add network proxy settings in the gateway using vCenter Server Management Interface (VAMI). The services in the gateway are aware of any proxy configuration you add. If you later change the proxy configuration, the services might not pick up the latest configuration, resulting in connectivity issues with VMware Cloud and a subsequent gateway registration failure.

  Workaround: To refresh stale proxy configurations in the services, reboot the gateway after any change you make to the proxy configuration for the gateway.

• Change in vCenter Server certificates after registration with gateway leads to services failures

  When vCenter Server certificates are updated after vCenter Server has been registered with vCenter Cloud Gateway, the services do not pick up the latest certificates. These certificates are not yet trusted, which results in a failure of vSphere Advantage activities.

  For system security, the vCenter Server certificates must always be in a trusted state even after you update them. The initial certificates are validated though Trust on First Use (TOFU) when you register the vCenter Server instance and marked as trusted But, this mechanism does not process certificate updates so any updated vCenter Server certificates will appear to be untrusted. As a result, the gateway does not receive them and activities start to fail.

  Workaround: None