It is not time for what’s new quite yet, so I’m experimenting with this format to deliver a laconic update on various topics.

HCX 4.3.0 & 4.3.1

As of earlier today, we have several thousand early adopter systems running the HCX 4.3.0 Minor Release (which includes EA for the NE-HA capability). Some conditional issues have been identified, and are resolved in the upcoming HCX 4.3.1 update (our planned Mid-Feb maintenance release). For the early majority considering or planning the HCX upgrade to 4.3.0, my personal recommendation would be to defer the activity until HCX 4.3.1 is available, since it is just around the corner.

Updated Network Extension Diagrams

Network Extension Diagram Multi-PDF
These may be useful to you in Network Extension topology discussions.

• Site Site Pair – Single NE (Baseline Info)
• Single Site Pair – Single NE (Shared NE for multiple extensions)
• Single Site Pair – Multiple NE (NE per stretch)
• Multi-Site NE Appliance Detail
• Multi-Site NE Hub-Spoke Extension “V Topology”
• Multi-Site NE Daisy-Chain Extension “L Topology”
• Multi-Site NE Closed Loop Topology

You can obtain all of the official VMware product icons I used in the VMware Brand Central.

Upcoming End of General Support Dates

This information is always available on lifecycle.vmware.com, just highlighting the critical stuff today:

• HCX 4.0 reaches EoGS next month. It’s now the best time to plan an HCX upgrade. The System Updates tab will show available releases based on what’s been published over the last year. If (as an example) you choose to upgrade to HCX 4.2, you want to select latest maintenance release (in this case 4.2.4) to ensure all latest security patches and stability fixes are included.
• HCX 4.1 releases are supported until mid-June. This is the early heads up.

Something to note is that the HCX support policy does not carry a Technical Guidance period. A release becomes out of support on the given date.

PowerCLI 12.5

PowerCLI 12.5 was released earlier in the month (on Jan 13th). It includes the latest fixes for the HCX module. The current HCX releases work well with PCLI 12.3 and above, but I very strongly recommend using the latest module when working with HCX.
PowerCLI 12.5 Release Notes.

vROps MP 5.3 for HCX

vRealize Operations Management Pack 5.3 for HCX was released January 12. The 5.2 MP does not support HCX 4.3. This latest version works with HCX 4.1 – 4.3 and can be downloaded from the VMware Marketplace.

vSphere 6.0 EoTG and what it means for HCX

vSphere 6.0 has been out of support since March 12, 2020. A vSphere version that has reached End of General Support cannot be used to build HCX-enabled clouds. It is however temporarily supported with HCX as a means to evacuate VMs from an aging software stack. (this is limited until the End of Technical Guidance date.

ESXi / vCenter Server 6.0 are very near to that EotG date. This means vSphere 6.0 evacuation projects should be underway.

For more information, see the HCX Support Policy for Vacating Legacy vSphere Environments.

For anyone in the position to use HCX without support I recommend using HCX Discussions on the VMware Technology Network (VMware Communities).

—
Gabe