What's new in Azure VMware Solution

[Mahesh Kshirsagar]

Oct-23

1. Azure VMware Solution is now providing functionality of Trusted Launch of guest VMs in preview. This functionality brings features such as Virtual Trusted Platform Module (vTPM), and Virtualization-based Security (VBS) to VMs running in Azure VMWare Solution SDDC.

Aug-23

1. New enhancements in Azure VMware Solution are announced. Some of the main announcements are as below.
   1. Option of using Pure Cloud Block Store (Preview) as yet another extra storage option. 
   2. Azure VMware Solution Well-Architected Framework (WAF) assessment and guidance is now available.
   3. Refresh to Azure Arc for Azure VMware Solution (Preview).

Jun-23

1. Azure VMware Solution is now available in Switzerland. Customers/Partners in Switzerland looking to migrate their VMware workloads in Azure, can use this new region.
2. Customer Managed Keys (CMK) for encrypting Azure VMware Solution vSAN is now generally availabile. With this solution, vSAN datastores are encrypted at rest.
3. A new guidance on Network Design for Azure VMware Solution is published. Customers/Partners can use this guidance to design inbound, outbound, hybrid and Azure connectivity for Azure VMware Solution.

May-23

1. Learn Azure VMware Solution best practices through hands-on demos in a session on 6th June. 

Apr-23

1. A new module on securing outbound internet connectivity from Azure VMware Solution private cloud is published as part of AVS Learning Path. Customers and partners can use this module to deploy 3rd party Network Virtual Appliances (NVA) to secure network traffic.

Mar-23

1. Azure VMware Solution is now available in Azure Government regions as a public preview. This will help partners to migrate VMware environment managed by Government agencies to Azure. 
2. Following new features (GA + Preview) are made available on AVS. Refer to this announcement for more details.
   1. Azure Hybrid Usage Benefits (AHUB) for SQL Server
   2. AVS in Azure Gov Region

Feb-23

1. Log Analytics integration with Azure VMware Solution guest VMs is now generally available. Customers/Partners can ingest/monitor logs from Azure VMware Solution guest VMs just like IaaS VMs and other Azure services.   

Dec-22

1. vSAN encryption using Customer Managed Key (CMK) is now GA. Refer to this documentation for more detail.

Oct-22

1. Customers/Partners can now encrypt vSAN datastore using their own encryption keys. This Preview feature is documented here.
2. AVS Stretched Cluster functionality is now made available in preview. This feature will help to improve resiliency of applications running on AVS.

Sep-22

1. Well-Architected Framework (WAF) for Azure VMware Solution is now available. Customers/Partners can use this prescriptive, and best-practices backed guidance for migrating and managing workloads in AVS.  
2. New announcements around AVS global expansion, Public IP at NSX Edge (GA), vSphere 7.0 availability and many other areas were made during VMware Explore event. These announcements help to accelerate migration to Azure using AVS.

Jul-22

1. Stream AVS platform logs (ESXI, vCenter, NSX-T Logs, etc.) to Azure Storage or Azure Event hubs using guidance published here. 
2. Public IP on Azure VMware Solution is available in Public Preview. With this feature, it's now possible to drive HCX Migrations over public Internet as well as use other benefits such as inbound/outbound internet access directly from AVS cluster. 

Jun-22

1. NSX-T cloudadmin role is being rolled out in phases. New role will provide a clear segregation between Read-only and Full Access permissions on various NSX-T operations.

May-22

1. On-demand recording of the Partner Boot Camp - Apr-22 is now available here.

Apr-22

1. Azure VMware Solution (AVS) Partner Boot Camp is scheduled on 27 and 28-April. Microsoft Partners can use any of the following registration link to join sessions in their time zone.
   1. APAC
   2. EMEA
   3. AMERICAS 

Mar-22

1. Register for Azure VMware Solution digital event on 23-March to join Microsoft and VMware insiders for the latest product news, demos, and best practices. 
2. Join Azure VMware Solution Monthly Office Hours conducted by VMware team for getting answers to your questions, live demo and other updates. 
3. Azure Arc for Azure VMware Solution is now available as a preview. Use this feature to discover and manage infrastructure resources as well as to manage guest VMs. 

Feb-22

1. A new webinar "Migrate Windows and SQL Server with Azure VMware Solution" is now available for on-demand viewing. Register to streamline Windows and SQL Server migration to Azure VMware Solution
2. A new Forrester study on "Cost Savings And Business Benefits
   Enabled By Azure VMware Solution" is now available for download. Use this study to understand cost savings enabled by Azure VMware Solution.
3. A new MS learn path on "Deploy disaster recovery using VMware Site Recovery Manager and Azure VMware Solution" is now available.  SRM is native tool for setting up BCDR processes on Azure VMware Solution.
4. Two new case studies from University of Miami and Investor Bank are now available. Refer to these case studies to understand how Azure VMware Solution helped these customers in their digital transformation projects.

Jan-22

1. AVS Design Review Checklist is now available. This checklists provides 90+ controls to review and validate AVS technical design before deployment. 

Dec-21

1. GPS Azure VMware Solution Bootcamp is available to register for Partners. Sessions will be available for on-demand viewing later. 

Nov-21

1. Premium and Standard SSD Disks are now supported along with Ultra Disks for Azure VMware Solution Disk Pools. This helps in reducing storage costs associated with datastores.
2. Azure VMware Solution Landing Zone Reference Implementation is published. It is a collection of ARM/Bicep templates and PS/CLI scripts to be used for greenfield and brownfield deployments. 
3. Azure VMware Solution is now available in 20 Azure regions. No other cloud provider matches this reach. Partners can meet their customers where they are today and help them move to Azure VMware Solution.
4. Azure VMWare Solution has received FedRAMP High Authorization. This is one more certification added to the portfolio of 65 certifications. Customers and Partners can confidently use Azure VMware Solution and meet various industry and country regulations. 
5. JetStream Disaster Recovery is now graduated from a Preview offer to Generally Available offer. Partners and Customers can use JetStream offer to confidently configure their DR processes for Azure VMware Solution.
6. Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktop services are now available on Azure VMware Solution. This is yet another Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) service available on Azure VMware Solution.

Oct-21

1. Azure VMware Solution is now included as part of Azure Workload Acquisition & Nurture incentive program. Partners can take advantage of multiple benefits available under the program to drive Azure VMware Solution projects.
2. Azure VMware Landing Zone is now publically available. It is Microsoft's prescriptive, opinionated and best-practices backed guidance for deploying and managing workloads running on Azure VMware solution.
3. VMworld 2021 event concluded on 7-Oct. Watch following on-demand sessions and hands-on labs specific to Azure VMware Solution.
   1. Voices of VMworld: Satya Nadella, Microsoft Chairman and CEO and VMware CEO Raghu Raghuram 
   2. Azure VMware Solution: Platform Deep Dive
   3. Azure VMware Solution: Networking, Security in a Hybrid Cloud Environment
   4. What’s New with Azure VMware Solution: Migrate, Modernize Apps with Speed
   5. Understand the True Value of Running a VMware SDDC on Azure
   6.  Disaster Protection with Azure VMware Solution and Site Recovery Manager
   7. VMware SD-WAN for Azure VMware Solution
   8. Azure VMware Solution - Lightning Lab
   9. Azure VMware Solution Workload Migration with VMware HCX
   10. Disaster Protection with Azure VMware Solution and VMware Site Recovery Manager
4.  It's soon possible to use Azure NetApp Files as NFS datastore for Azure VMware Solution. It's a great option for using the same NetApp VSAN datastores as used in on-premise environments in Azure now.
5. It is possible now to do HCX migration over VPN and SD-SWAN. Customers can get an additional option besides Azure ExpressRoute for driving migrations.  
6. New enhancements, global expansion, partner integration are now available as documented here.
7. Initial availability of using Zerto for setting up DR processes for Azure VMware Solution. 
8. It's now possible to use VMware SD-WAN solution either in Azure VWAN or Azure Route Server to accelerate HCX based migration to Azure VMware Solution.

Sep-21

1. Run command is now available as public preview. Azure VMware Solution administrators can now perform 10+ administrative tasks straight from Azure portal.
2. New Azure VMware Solution content is published Partner Network. Some notable assets include
   1. Microsoft Azure VMware Solution (AVS) - Thought Leadership eBook
   2. Microsoft Azure VMware Solution (AVS) - Customer Presentation - L100
   3. Top 5 Reasons to Migrate with Azure VMware Solution
3. Disaster recovery solution from JetStream is now available as a public preview. Customers now have additional option besides SRM and HCX based DR solutions.

Aug-21

1. Placement Policies for Azure VMware Solution is now available as a public preview. Customers can use them to co-locate VMs together or specific hosts and gain performance enhancement and resiliency.
2. Advanced Specialization Program is available for Azure VMware Specialization. Customers can be assured of the credibility of Partner driving Azure VMware Solution projects for them through this program.