EMC Helps Bring the Benefits of VMware vSphere APIs for IO Filtering to Customers and Partners

Written by:

Jonathan Siegal, Vice President, Primary Storage Marketing, EMC Core Technologies

Peter Smails, Vice President, Data Protection Marketing, EMC Core Technologies

Today, VMware announced the availability of third-party virtual data services through integration with VMware VMware vSphere APIs for IO filtering, and EMC is already demonstrating how it can deliver benefits to customers and partners as a result.   VMware vSphere APIs for IO Filtering offers partners the ability to put their technology directly into the IO stream of a VM through a filter that intercepts data before it is committed to disk. This can enable partners and customers to leverage performance and data services of underlying storage for individual VMs based on policies.

There are initially two key areas where EMC is helping to accelerate the value of VMware vSphere APIs for IO Filtering in the marketplace:

  • Delivering fully integrated virtual replication data services through EMC RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines, as the first VMware vSphere APIs for IO Filtering design partner for replication
  • Enabling other VMware partners to test their VMware vSphere APIs for IO Filtering integration in a virtual environment using vVNX Community Edition

 Power to the VMware Admin – EMC First Replication Design Partner for New VMware APIs

 EMC is dedicated to empowering data owners – including database and virtualization admins – to protect data directly from their environment. One popular way we do this is by enabling backup and replication of virtual applications directly from VMware vSphere.

Specifically, EMC RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines extends existing integration with VMware and provides fully integrated virtual replication data services in vSphere.  By empowering VMware admins to manage replication through vSphere Storage Policy-Based Management, VM admins can leverage the same framework for all the software-defined storage services in vSphere, ensuring that VM service levels are met.

RecoverPoint for VMs takes best-in-class EMC replication technology and brings it directly to VMware admins in a software-only, storage-agnostic solution.

With RecoverPoint for VMs, vAdmins can easily recover VMs directly from vSphere without relying on a storage or data protection team. This enables virtual machines to be set up for native protection and can be quickly recovered to any point in time.

Power to the VMware Partner – EMC Enables Testing of VMware vSphere APIs for IO Filtering to Partners

 EMC’s vVNX Community Edition is enabling agile development operations for customers and partners globally and, since its release in May 2015, has been downloaded over 10,000 times.  The latest version, supporting VMware vSphere Virtual Volumes, can be downloaded here.

EMC’s technology partners, like SanDisk, use vVNX to quickly and easily evaluate new capabilities such as VMware vSphere APIs for IO Filtering – without the need to acquire dedicated hardware. With VMware vSphere APIs for IO Filtering, data services operate at the VM level, extending the value of VMware vSphere Virtual Volumes.

SanDisk’s FlashSoft server-side caching software has been working with VMware as a VMware vSphere APIs for IO Filtering design partner. FlashSoft can accelerate VMs stored on any type of data store, including the recently introduced VMware Virtual SAN and VMware vSphere Virtual Volumes storage technologies.  SanDisk was able to leverage EMC vVNX to test FlashSoft with VMware vSphere Virtual Volumes technology.

“In the process of validating our FlashSoft software with VMware’s VMware vSphere Virtual Volumes technology, EMC’s new vVNX Community Edition made it much easier to set up and manage VMware vSphere Virtual Volumes, making testing and development much more efficient,” said Tom Critser, managing director of SanDisk’s enterprise software division.

As VMware continues to revolutionize the way that IT is provisioned, EMC is, in parallel, revolutionizing the storage and protection infrastructure on which it sits.  Sharing a vision for the technology of the future means that our customers and partners are realizing benefits today.

About the Author: Dell Technologies