3V0-22.21N approach - Advanced Deploy VMware vSphere 7.x Updated: 2024

‘There must be a new approach to cybersecurity – one that is built-in, unified and context-centric,” says VMware’s Chief Operating Officer Sanjay Poonen.

VMware’s popular VMware Cloud Foundation is receiving a major shot in the arm with new security capabilities from Carbon Black and NSX as the virtualization star continues its march to make security intrinsic in all its products.

At RSA 2020 conference on Tuesday, VMware unveiled that VMware Advanced Security for Cloud Foundation – which is the basis for offers such as VMware Cloud on AWS and VMware Cloud on Dell EMC – will inject Carbon Black’s workload protection Real-time Workload Audit/Remediation technology as well as its Next-Generation Antivirus (NGAV) and Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR) solutions.

Additionally, VMware’s NSX Advanced Load Balancer with Web Application Firewall capabilities and NSX Distributed IDS/IPS can be added to VMware Cloud Foundation deployments. The NSX and Carbon Black technology will integrate with VMware vSphere.

[Related: VMware Licensing VP: CPU Pricing Change Has ‘Zero Impact’]

For more than a year, VMware has had its sights set on disrupting the security industry by tightly integrating security into every product, a strategy it dubs as intrinsic security.

Sanjay Poonen, chief operating officer, customer operations for VMware, said there has never been a more challenging time in security.

“Attacker sophistication, security threats, breaches, and exploits are becoming more prevalent with no end in sight. And with cloud, new applications, pervasive mobility, IoT, and data at the edge, the problem is only getting harder to solve. There must be a new approach to cybersecurity – one that is built-in, unified and context-centric,” Poonen said in a statement. “We believe the best strategy and approach is to make security intrinsic enabling organizations to leverage their infrastructure and its unique capabilities across any app, any cloud and any device to better secure the world’s digital infrastructure – from networks, to endpoints, to workloads, to identities, to clouds.”

VMware Carbon Black will be tightly integrated with VMware vSphere to create an agentless solution which eliminates the need to insert antivirus and other agents. VMware says endpoint telemetry will be managed and gathered via built-in sensors protected by the hypervisor.

Adding the scale-out software architecture of NSX Web Application Firewall to VMware Cloud Foundation will help confirm that web servers have enough compute capacity for maximum security filtering even under peak loads. VMware’s web application firewalls leverages its understanding of application, automated learning and app-specific rules to provide strong security with lower false positives.

Adding NSX Distributed IDS/IPS to Cloud Foundation environments will provide intrusion detection on many difference services to offer deeper visibility as well as enable advanced filtering to be applied to every hop of the application to reduce any blind spots.

In an interview with CRN last year, VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger said VMware has the ability to take the security market by storm.

“We have two assets that nobody else on the planet has. We have the VM. We’re building this intrinsically into the VM. A lot of problem with a lot of security today is they end up being agents that you add into the guest environment. If you’re an attacker, the first thing you do is turn off the agents. Right? Those techniques of turning off the agents or spoofing the agents, there’s probably 100 free kits you can get to do that. The VM can’t be turned off. This sits as a capability inside of the VM,” said Genslinger.

“[Then] with our NSX, I now have an enforcer point, where you can see the network traffic and see all of it from an application-centric [point of view]. So the VM is handing traffic into NSX and then to the microsegments -- there’s nothing else sitting in-between that. You don’t have to hairpin to some remote firewall or some other service. You have that explicit point right at connectivity into the networking layer that either gives you visibility of all traffic coming in or enforcement of traffic going out,” said Gelsinger. “Those are two very powerful points that we don’t think anybody else is anywhere close to us in being able to do those two things for very fundamental, technical and market-based reasons.”

VMware made a huge splash in the security market in October with the acquisition of endpoint security leader Carbon Black for a value of $2.1 billion.

In addition to the new security features on VMware Cloud Foundation announced at the RSA 2020 conference, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company launched new capabilities for the VMware Carbon Black Cloud.

VMware introduced automated correlation with MITRE ATT&CK framework Technique IDs -- a which is a list of common tactics, techniques, and procedures -- built into the VMware Carbon Black Cloud, allowing customers to discover potential threats and identify areas of improvements. Additionally, VMware Carbon Black will be adding malware prevention capabilities for Linux machines to enable customers to migrate away from other endpoint prevention solutions specific to Linux.

The RSA 2020 conference in San Francisco runs Feb. 24-28.

Bursting through to the mainstream in 2012, the last decade has seen VMware’s vSAN carve its place in the hyperconverged infrastructure market. Powered by the company’s Express Storage Architecture, vSAN delivers value by creating and managing storage partitions for virtual machines.

In the past few years, however, vSAN has fallen behind the pace of networking hardware innovation instead of fully leveraging it. That trend is set to change with vSAN 8.0 ESA, as the update promises a thorough overhaul to make networking bottlenecks a thing of the past — as evidenced by the telling result of the recent research commissioned by Dell Technologies Inc.

“Over the last decade, VMware has continued to enhance vSAN; and with this new iteration of vSAN [ESA], they rearchitected how things were done to take advantage of the latest generation hardware technologies,” said Bill Leslie (pictured), director of HCI technical marketing at Dell Technologies. “Of course, Dell is delivering those through PowerEdge and a part of our VxRail platforms in HCI. This testing that we did showcases just how important those newer generation technologies are to the ESA performance levels that you can get to with VxRail and vSAN.”

Leslie spoke with theCUBE Research industry analyst Dave Vellante, during a conversation from SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio outside of Boston. They discussed the journey from the early days of vSAN to the present vSAN 8.0 ESA and the test results as a compelling case for organizations to consider 100 GigE networking to unlock new performance levels and usher in a new era for HCI. (* Disclosure below.)

Testing the waters: 25 GigE vs. 100 GigE

The earliest vSAN iterations assumed the prevalence of hard disk drives and the transition from one-gigabyte to 10-gigabyte networks. The original storage architecture relied heavily on a fast-tier caching layer, akin to traditional storage technologies, with the de-staging of a caching tier often becoming a bottleneck. This led customers to opt for RAID 1 configurations to optimize performance instead of more cost effective RAID 5 or 6.

Fast forward to the present, vSAN ESA represents a paradigm shift, according to Leslie. The new ESA has rearchitected how vSAN operates and aligned it with the latest hardware technologies — a synergy manifested through Dell’s PowerEdge and VxRail platforms.

“What we wanted to do was isolate that network in the testing,” Leslie said. “So, we held everything, constant except for the networking in this testing. It’s the same version of software with VxRail; it’s the same hardware components — we didn’t vary the drives. We only moved the networking from the 25-gig cards to the 100-gig cards just so that we could isolate that down to see what type of differential existed inside the potential of our cluster.”

The meticulous testing sought to keep other variables the same while testing the performance of the new vSAN ESA clusters using 25-GigE and 100-GigE network cards — and the results were nothing short of revelatory. With the 100-GigE configuration, vSAN ESA demonstrated dramatic performance improvements, challenging the theoretical limits imposed by 25-GigE networks, according to Leslie.

Test results: Untapped performance horizons with 100 GigE on vSAN 8.0 ESA

The aforementioned tests covered a spectrum of workloads, including online transactional processing and database simulations, varying block sizes and read-write mixes. Any change in performance observed was directly attributed to the shift in network configuration, according to Leslie.

The data presented a clear picture: The 100-GigE option outperformed its counterpart, showcasing nearly a 50% gain in specific workloads, Leslie added.

“What we see on the 100-gig line … is we’re starting to see performance far exceed the right side on that chart where the performance of the 25-gig networks ended,” he explained. “That’s important because what we see here is a near 50% gain on this particular workload that you get with that hundred-gig networking. That’s untapped potential if you’re not deploying the right networks with vSAN ESA to really harness all of that potential.”

Pivoting over to the economic implications of adopting 100-GigE networks, the long-term benefits far outweigh the increased acquisition costs, according to Leslie. By enabling the use of RAID 6 and leveraging the improved processing capabilities of newer Intel processors, vSAN ESA with 100 GigE showcased a near doubling of overall performance levels. Notably, this performance boost came without changing processors, memory or drives, emphasizing the untapped potential within nodes.

“When you’re able to showcase just how much potential you can unleash with these, you need half the number of nodes in an overall design point. It pays for itself very quickly in that equation,” Leslie said. “Without a doubt, that 100-gig [network] is going to let them take advantage of all of the performance that you want to get out of your VMware and vSAN environments.”

Here’s theCUBE’s complete video interview with Bill Leslie:

(* Disclosure: Dell Technologies Inc. sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither Dell Technologies nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE

Halcyon, an emerging player in the cybersecurity anti-ransomware sector, recently marked a significant milestone in its growth trajectory, securing an additional $40 million in a Series B funding round. This accurate infusion of capital brings the company's total funding to an impressive $84 million, following a $44 million Series A round last April.

I spoke with Jon Miller, the company’s co-founder and CEO, shortly after news of Halcyon’s funding round became public. He took me behind the scenes, describing how Halcyon differentiates in a hyper-competitive and growing market.

Halcyon’s Unique Approach to Ransomware Protection

Halcyon has carved a niche in anti-ransomware solutions and services with offerings tailored to combat the increasing threat of ransomware attacks, which have become a significant concern for businesses and institutions worldwide.

While the company offers a suite of tools that provide a comprehensive defense mechanism against ransomware threats, it takes a high-touch bespoke approach to helping its customers navigate the threat landscape.

As Mr. Miller told me, Halcyon brings a “unique set of services” to the anti-ransomware market. The company’s services team consults with enterprises to ensure that those customers are prepared to protect themselves, but also be able to quickly recover from has become an almost certain attack.

Halcyon is famous for its ability to help customers quickly recover from an attack, usually within twenty-four hours. The secret to such a rapid recovery lay in Halcyon’s proprietary “recovery engine,” which allows for data recovery even without the ransomware’s encryption key.

Halcyon delivers tools that provide anti-tamper protections, aimed at preventing unauthorized access and alterations to data; anti-data exfiltration software, which helps safeguard sensitive information from being stolen or leaked; and key material capture capabilities, a unique feature that aids in securing critical data encryption keys.

Halcyon's integration of advanced AI models into its security infrastructure is another key differentiator for the company. Halcyon’s models are trained to detect, disrupt, and counter ransomware attacks, offering a proactive and dynamic line of defense. This AI-driven approach allows Halcyon's solutions to continually adapt to new and evolving cyber threats, ensuring that its protection remains effective against the latest ransomware tactics.

Moreover, Halcyon's platform is designed to be autonomous and able to update its detection and prevention algorithms in real time. This aspect is crucial in the fast-paced digital environment where cyber threats evolve rapidly, and traditional, manual update processes often need to be faster to be effective.

The company's focus on ransomware, a particularly pernicious and growing cyberattack, demonstrates a deep understanding of the current cybersecurity landscape and its specific challenges.

Analyst’s Take

Halcyon's emergence in the cybersecurity landscape represents a significant development in the battle against ransomware, a growing threat in our increasingly digital world. The company stands out for its specialized focus on anti-ransomware solutions, allowing Halcyon to develop advanced tools that prevent attacks and offer unique capabilities like device decryption post-attack.

Financially, Halcyon's fundraising achievements, including its accurate $40 million Series B funding round, signal strong market confidence in its approach and potential. This funding, totaling $84 million to date, speaks to investors' belief in Halcyon's innovative strategies and ability to fill a crucial gap in the cybersecurity market.

Moreover, the company's growing client base, which includes over 100 enterprise-level brands and several state-level school districts, reflects the effectiveness of its solutions and the broad applicability of its products across various sectors. Its client diversity underscores the universal challenge of ransomware and positions Halcyon as a versatile and critical player in this domain.

The company operates in a crowded market, filled with well-funded and capable competitors such as CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, and Microsoft; this is market where its often difficult to demonstrate differentiation. The challenge for Halcyon will be in maintaining its specialized focus, including its unique services offerings, while adapting to the constantly changing nature of cyber threats and the evolving needs of its clients.

Halcyon’s approach, and continued success, reveal a company that’s navigating a complex and competitive market with a nice balance of focus and execution. In the face of an ever-increasing and sophisticated threat landscape, Halcyon's uniquely focused approach to ransomware and its technological advancements and strategic expansion marks it as a company to watch in the cybersecurity arena.

Disclosure: Steve McDowell is an industry analyst, and NAND Research an industry analyst firm, that engages in, or has engaged in, research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, which may include those mentioned in this article. Mr. McDowell does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.

Science fiction writers love playing with virtual worlds that harness theoretical physics for real-world applications and make it possible for characters to go beyond the reality we experience here on Earth. Star Trek’s holodeck, dreamed up by series creator Gene Roddenberry after he met with a holography researcher in the 1970s, is a prime example.

In the Star Trek holodeck, holographic images are projected to create simulations of locations, objects, and people that appear to be real and touchable. But when the holodeck’s program ends, the simulations fade and Captain Picard is standing in a gridded, enclosed room.

Researchers at New York University (NYU), including computer science professor Ken Perlin, are trying to make the holodeck a reality. “It’s been inspired by that sense of freedom—basically the promise of the idea that we don’t need to be bound by the rules of the particular physical reality we happen to be inhabiting,” Perlin said.

The goal of the NYU Holodeck is to create an immersive world that spans the virtual and the physical, allowing people to collaborate even if they’re thousands of miles from each other. “We’re going to say, ‘Well, I want to collaborate with you, and we’re going to be exploring a molecule together, or flying around in the universe, or looking at a cell or walking around a structural model of the economy, or whatever problem it is that we need to solve,” Perlin said.

The NYU Holodeck was announced in September 2016, and one of the team’s current goals is to find the least intrusive way possible for people to inhabit the same physical space in virtual reality. That involves developing precision object-tracking technology, as well as working out conceptual kinks, such as the best way to hand a physical object to a person in a virtual environment.

This type of technology could have a profound effect on medicine. Perlin cited examples of a neurosurgeon using the NYU Holodeck to do preoperative planning, or medical students watching a diagram, floating in the air, that animates a procedure. Doctors in Provo, Utah, are already working with the HoloLens for similar purposes, converting 2-D medical images into 3-D projected holograms that can be used both to train medical students and to clarify procedures for patients.

But Perlin also knows there are unconceived possibilities for the Holodeck. “There will be things that we will be able to do, for example, in the realm of the teacher–student relationship that we’re not even thinking of yet,” he said.

For example, EchoPixel has introduced interactive 3-D holograms to select hospitals across the country, allowing doctors to turn data from 2-D CT and MRI scans into 3-D interactive images that can be manipulated as if they were genuine body parts. This technology has already proven effective, with doctors detecting more congenital heart defects in 40 percent less time. There is also optimism among doctors that this noninvasive examination technique could encourage patients to come in for checkups more frequently.

Not only could virtual and holographic advances make medicine more efficient, but they could also help doctors make their patients more comfortable and more involved—two adjectives rarely associated with medicine. The incorporation of virtual, manipulated, and interactive simulations of the body and its treatment could help doctors see more and see better. It could also augment transparency between them and their patients.

The Possibility Report is an ongoing series about how technology is changing our understanding of the world around us. This article is part of HEAL, our discussion about the ways technology can be used to heal human bodies, animal populations, and the entire planet.

In a 2015 interview, Bill Gates imagined a world where Artificially Intelligent Tutoring Systems (AITS) have transformed learning. He spoke of AI-powered tutors offering a personalized approach for each student. They could work with a kid struggling to wrap his head around algebra while his classmates moved on to something more advanced; they could work with a grandmother determined to learn a new language.

These systems wouldn’t replace teachers. Rather, they’d enhance human teachers’ abilities to tailor lessons to each student without knocking their class schedule off track. Educators would no longer have to “teach to the middle,” as so often happens when the students in a classroom have a range of skill levels and learning abilities. Now all of those students can sit in the same classroom, with the same teacher, and learn at their own pace.

“The real power of artificial intelligence for education is in the way that we can use it to process vast amounts of data about learners, about teachers, about teaching and learning interactions,” said Rose Luckin, a professor of learning-centered design at University College London. “[It can] help teachers understand their students more accurately, more effectively.”

Luckin doesn’t think AI will replace teachers anytime soon. Instead, she said, it will free up teachers’ time to do what they do best: build relationships with students. She’s started experimenting with these systems in real classrooms, using them to teach various subjects. “AI is doing some of the very labor-intensive data collection and analysis that is best done by technology, leaving the teacher to do the human interaction that’s much better done by humans,” she said. “You keep the bit that the humans are particularly good at, and then you try and automate the support within that system.”

That personalized attention could provide students the added confidence that some need to complete their education. Just look at what happened in a study conducted at City University of New York (CUNY): When associate’s degree students were paired with an experienced advisor who met with them on a regular basis, drop-out rates were cut in half.

Given the costs of having an experienced advisor regularly available to students, it’s not always realistic. But AI could be the experienced advisor, powered by learnings from big data.

One of the organizations Luckin consults for, Third Space Learning, wants to use AI to evaluate how well their tutors teach students. Each tutor is currently evaluated once a week by a human, which requires a lot of human resources—an expensive task.

“You still get the high-quality human-to-human, tutor-to-student interaction, but the evaluation of that interaction will be, in the future, done by an AI. And in addition, the evaluation that’s done automatically will be used to tailor the continuing professional development of that tutor,” Luckin said.

AI can fill the gaps in subject areas in which a teacher doesn’t have a particular expertise or help train teachers when there is a skill shortage in the job market, too.

According to Gates, introducing AI to educational settings will benefit learners of all ages. “For a lot of subjects, as people get older, they are not willing to take that learning risk where they are confused,” Gates said. “The idea that you could talk to a [virtual] advisor that would understand different misconceptions and arbitrary linguistics around it, that’ll certainly come in the next decade.”

The Possibility Report is an ongoing series about how technology is changing our understanding of the world around us. This article is part of LEARN, our discussion on how emerging technologies promise to change the educational experience as we know it, from elementary schools to prisons and everywhere between.

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