Top 9 new vCloud Director 1.5 features
During the VMworld sessions that Chris Colotti and I present the private vCloud architecture deep dive, we cover the top 9 new vCloud features included in version 1.5. Now I know vCD 1.5 was released a little while ago, but not everyone is aware of all the new features, so I thought I would list them here. As a small annecdote Chris and I came up with this list late one night in Vegas before our session. We had planned on listing the top 10, but could only manage our top 9 🙂 Microsoft SQL Database Support vShield Edge VPN and Static Routing support vShield Edge 5-Tupple Firewall API Call-outs with blocking messaging Elastic Virtual Datacenter Fast Provisioning vSphere 5 Support Custom Guest Properties Third Party VLAN Backed and VCD-NI
Dutch vMaffia fight caught on camera @ VMworld
Some of you may have heard about the Dutch vMaffia, which being an honorary Dutch Man I am a member of. Unfortunately a fight broke out today at VMworld, but people need to realise they cannot over throw us. They even brought there heavyweight to beat us Mr Muscles (aka Monster VM). Follow the Dutch_vMaffia on Twitter Please Note: Viewer discretion is advised, this contains violent images.

Cannot add groups to vCD after configuring LDAP
I discovered today building a new vCD 1.5 home lab, that once you configure the System LDAP, you dont have the option to add any LDAP groups. This confused me, it was possible to do this in 1.0.x. Why isn’t it available in 1.5? What I discovered is that the GUI is still configured for non LDAP authentication. Once you have configured LDAP and started the synchronization log out of the vCloud Director GUI and back in. You will then see that groups is listed under the administration tab. The GUI needs to update its configuration options. Simple solution, but still confusing until you realise.
VMware vCloud Director 1.5 release notes
Lots of people have asked me where they can find information on the new features and the release notes for vCloud Director 1.5. To view the release notes click here. Quick abstract from the page What’s in the Release Notes The release notes cover the following topics: What’s New System Requirements and Installation Known Issues What’s New Fast Provisioning: Utilizing linked clones dramatically speeds up provisioning time and reduces storage costs. vApp Custom Properties: Allows developers and other users to easily pass user data into guest OSes using OVF descriptors. Blocking Tasks and Notifications: Programmatically connect vCloud Director to enterprise systems (e.g. CMDB) enabling end-to-end system automation. Expanded vCloud API: Additional commands added to the vCloud API namespace to include all GUI-accessible actions and enable broader integration and scripting using the API. Microsoft SQL Server Support: For new deployments of vCloud Director, Microsoft SQL is supported for the vCloud database […]