IBM Plug-ins for VMware vCenter

One of the key benefits of VMware vSphere is of course vCenter Server, which allows the management of small to enterprise virtualised environments from a single console.   I find that if a product can be used without immediately refering to the manual, it’s passed the ‘Apple’ test and vCenter passes that test.

vCenter of course allows a range of VMware and 3rd plug-ins to be installed,  so that VMware adminstrators can perform further tasks without leaving their ‘single pane of glass’.

IBM has produced a number of plug-ins for our server, storage and backup products but knowing they exist, or finding them can be a little difficult.  So I’ve compiled a list below of these plug-ins, along with links with with further information (and directly download links where available).   These plug-ins will continue to be updated over time, so check ibm.com for any updates.

Storage Plug-ins

These plug-ins allow the VMware administrator to have better visability to the underlying storage.   For instance the Storage Management Console for vCenter allows delegation of some storage tasks within vCenter.

• IBM Storage Management Console for vCenter v2.6 (for IBM XIV, SVC, v7000).  Further details here and here
• IBM System Storage N Series Virtual Storage Console v2.1.1 for VMware vSphere (IBM N Series).  Further details here and here
• VMware vCenter Plug-In v2.3 for IBM System Storage with vSphere 5.0 Support (DS3000, DS4000 and DS5000).  Further details here

Server Plug-in

IBM’s System x plug-in, IBM Upward Integration for VMware vSphere v1.0 (IBM System x) provides four key functions:

• Hardware Diagnostics
• Dynamic System Analysis
• Update Xpress System Package Installer
• Power Metrics

Backup and Recovery

The Data Protection for VMware vCenter plug-in allows controlling a range of  backup, restore and reporting operations directly from vCenter.

• IBM Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) for Virtual Environments. Data Protection for VMware vCenter plug-in.  Further details here