Back in February, I posted an article on the upcoming version 1.5 of the Dell Management Plug-In for VMware vCenter.

Let me rehash what I wrote about the new-and-upcoming version:

1.5, March 2012?

Dell is expected to release version 1.5 of the product at the end of March 2012. Expected new features are:

  • Released as both an update within the appliance and as a full OVF
  • New license option for 25 and 100 hosts.
  • Support for the 12th generation (12G) of Dell PowerEdge Servers
  • 12G servers do not require OMSA, creating an ‘Agent Free’ option utilizing the iDRAC and Lifecycle Controller
  • Deploying ESXi to (dual) SD-card Modules
  • Lockdown mode support
  • New Compliance Wizard (to check if ‘Collect System Inventory on Restart’ is enabled, to install and configure OMSA and to fix the Connection Profile)
  • Improvements to the initial firmware installation process
  • Option to exit maintenance mode automatically of a host after firmware update complete
  • Various other bug fixes and feature enhancements

1.5, March 2012 update!

I lost track of the product for a while, but I had a use for it today in one of my client’s environments, so I wanted to give an update on the subject. Version 1.5 shipped in late March. Besides the aforementioned list, here’s what’s new:

  • New online help system
  • The new Compliance Wizard checks for compliance and remediates existing hosts
    • Installs and configures OMSA on 9, 10 and 11G servers
    • Fixes connection profile
    • Enables CSIOR status to collect system inventory on each host restart
    • Brings firmware levels to a level that can be managed
  • Localization of user- and quick install guide within 30 days of release date
  • Improved firmware update streamlining: hosts will be brought out of maintenance mode automatically, allowing them to return to service even faster.
  • Free ‘1 host’ version available at http://www.dell.com/vcenterplugin. This is actually a non-timed bound, fully featured trial limited to a single host and vCenter Server.

For an overview of the 1.5 release, please watch this YouTube video by Dell:

1.5.1, August 2012?

I’ve been told the next release will be version 1.5.1 and will ship in mid-August 2012. This will be a maintenance release with a strong focus on localization. Dell’s aiming to support the same languages VMware does; i.e. English, French, German, Korean, Japanese and Simplified Chinese. As far as I know, no new features will be added in the 1.5.1 release.

More information

I found a couple of new or updated documented on the plugin, which you might find helpful: