June 18, 2019
The new Automated VMware Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) functionality with ESXi upgradability is out and available in beta to all users. With this addition, Runecast Analyzer can now check your servers for future compatibility issues – in addition to uncovering past and present issues and verifying the I/O devices within them.
It’s not enough just to analyze logs to figure out what happened in the past or even recognize new issues in real-time. The new Runecast automated VMware HCL and ESXi upgradability (beta) gives you a predictive look at the future – all while providing a direct path to remediation (details here). This forward-looking capability reduces the admin time needed for compatibility checks and helps prevent complications from undetected issues, such as forced downtimes or the PSOD.
Keeping best practices going in your data center means keeping in compliance with the VMware HCL, which is continually updated, as are server and component build versions. Compliance with the HCL is essential, not only during the design phase and in greenfield deployments, but also throughout the whole lifecycle, as it helps to prevent service outages, unpredictable system behaviors, and performance degradation. And keeping up-to-date with the HCL is a critical, daily chore. Admins often try to do this by manually checking things off one-by-one on the VMware compatibility "checker" or writing a script to check part of their environment – and hope that everything works. Sometimes, an admin might just forget to look into all options and not check the guide before an upgrade.
Runecast Analyzer already monitors your hardware models, drivers, and firmware against VMware Knowledge Base articles to provide proactive findings for known issues affecting your servers. Runecast’s new feature goes a big step further to free up your time and work resources needed to match the specifics of your environment against the HCL matrices. Runecast Analyzer shows you if, where, and why your vSphere environment might be at serious risk because of hardware compatibility issues. Furthermore, you are given the technical information to proactively ensure compatibility, issue prevention, and security compliance for your SDDC. You’re not just fighting fires – you are preventing them from breaking out.
The ESXi upgradability feature is part of the automated VMware HCL delivered within the Runecast Analyzer and has the same prerequisites:
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