VMware Cloud Director 10.6.1: Enhanced Security, Smarter Resource Management, and Greater Control
Cloud computing continues to evolve, and VMware Cloud Director (VCD) is keeping pace with new updates that enhance security, optimize resource management, and provide users with greater control. VMware by Broadcom is excited to announce that VMware Cloud Director 10.6.1 will be available as part of the VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) offering starting January 31, 2025.
Key Enhancements in VMware Cloud Director 10.6.1
Smarter VM Placement with Guest OS Awareness
With this update, virtual machines (VMs) can now be placed on specific hosts or clusters based on their guest operating system. Administrators can define VM Groups for specific OS types, ensuring proper placement and compliance across all tenants. This feature also helps organizations adhere to Microsoft and other vendor licensing requirements, simplifying compliance while optimizing resource management.
Use Cases:
– Automatic enforcement ensures VMs are always placed in their designated groups.
– Seamless reconfiguration allows existing VMs to adopt this placement rule during power cycles or VM edits.
This enhancement improves workload distribution and simplifies multi-tenant management, offering better control over VM performance and security.
Enhanced API Token Security
Security is a top priority, and VCD now allows administrators to force API token expiration. If a token needs to be revoked immediately—whether due to security concerns or administrative changes—admins can now invalidate it instantly, ensuring a proactive approach to API access management.
Use Cases:
– Instant access revocation enhances security governance.
– Greater administrative control over authentication and access management.
Flexible IP Retention for Sub-Providers & Managed Organizations
Managing IP addresses is now more flexible! VMware Cloud Director enables custom IP retention periods at both the sub-provider and managed organization levels. This ensures that IP addresses remain available even when VMs are deleted or NICs are removed—regardless of whether they were assigned via Static Pool, Static Manual, or DHCP.
Use Cases:
– Customizable IP retention minimizes reallocation efforts.
– Metadata-based configuration allows admins to define retention periods based on organizational needs.
– Manual Reservation API preserves IPs for seamless redeployment.
No more lost IPs or unnecessary reconfigurations—just streamlined network management.
Gateway Firewall Enforcement
This update introduces the ability to activate or deactivate gateway firewall enforcement, fully integrated within the VCF stack. Administrators now have full visibility into T1 and T0 firewall enforcement statuses, ensuring security configurations align with organizational policies.
Use Cases:
– Full transparency into firewall enforcement status.
– Administrative control to enable or disable enforcement as needed.
Stateful Firewall Access & Edge Cluster Configuration
Provider administrators now have greater control over the stateful firewall service, which is natively integrated within the VCF stack. This update allows providers to restrict tenants from adding stateful firewall rules on T1, T0, and vApps unless the ANS security stack is entitled. Additionally, a new edge cluster configuration option enables providers to enable or disable stateful firewalls as needed.
Use Cases:
– Granular control over firewall rules ensures security compliance.
– Edge cluster configuration adds flexibility in managing network security.
Shareable Custom Segment Profiles
Service providers can now share custom segment profiles with tenant organizations, making it easier to standardize networking policies across multiple tenants.
Use Cases:
– Improved collaboration between providers and tenants.
– Consistent networking configurations across multiple organizations.
IPv6 Transparent Load Balancing Returns
Support for IPv6 and VMware Avi Load Balancer Transparent Load Balancing is back! Pool members can now view the client’s source IP, improving visibility and network efficiency. To enable this feature, VMware Avi Load Balancer must be integrated with VMware Cloud Director.
Use Cases:
– Seamless IPv6 support for modern networking needs.
– Enhanced load balancing with transparent traffic routing.
Additional Enhancements
– Fixed Update Custom Task API – Resolves double execution issues, ensuring the API works correctly on the first attempt.
– Resolved Virtual Data Centers View Issues – Admins can now navigate the view without errors.
– Removed NSX MP API References – Eliminates outdated NSX MP API references for a more streamlined experience.
Conclusion
VMware Cloud Director 10.6.1 delivers
