VMware Ready Management Program & vCenter Extensibility

The VMware Ready Management Program enables partners to build and qualify VMware-optimized management solutions to greatly simplify management of VMware virtual datacenter operating system environments (VDC-OS).
With this program, VMware is providing partners access to its new vCenter Extensibility technologies -- a rich set of management functionality and integration interfaces for the VMware vCenter management product portfolio -- as well as new best practices and technical validation and logo programs that enable partners to build on vCenter Extensibility and offer customers an easy way to identify VMware-optimized management solutions.
Through vCenter Extensibility, VMware partners have access to a rich set of management functionality and integration interfaces. This integrated approach allows partners to extend the ease of manageability of VMware virtualized infrastructure to interconnected processes and heterogeneous environments regardless of hardware, OS, and application type.
The result is an open, integrated approach to management that provides customers with the most manageable platform on which they can virtualize their business-critical applications and address the true management needs of the enterprise.

The VMware Ready Management Program is a groundbreaking initiative that leverages the unique capabilities of vCenter to enable a rich ecosystem of partner management solutions for virtualized environments and gives customers the ability to accelerate and automate key management functions.  The VMware Ready Management Program helps VMware customers gain the management benefits of virtualization and address some of the most pressing management challenges as they standardize on VMware as a platform to deliver key IT services.
The VMware Ready Management Program provides customers with:

• Simplified management – simplify comprehensive management of virtual data center OS environments and across the enterprise with vCenter-integrated partner solutions
• Integrated Solutions – vCenter and VMware Ready Management Solutions from partners for key management needs
• Interoperability – integrated through vCenter Extensibility with existing management solutions to streamline processes and reduce cost

The qualification process and recommended solutions under the VMware Ready Management Program are a valuable asset for customers in product identification and selection process. Qualification can reduce the amount of testing customers need to do internally evaluating partner products. The VMware Ready Management Program will provide assurance that qualified partner products:

• Meet test requirements
• Follow VMware guidelines for integration
• Provide consistent support

With this program, VMware is providing partners full access to its new vCenter Extensibility technologies. vCenter Extensibility includes technology components of VMware vCenter Products such as: VMware’s management product portfolio based on VitualCenter Server, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and User-Interface (UI) plug-in architectures that facilitate the integration of VMware management functions into third-party management solutions.
The VMware Ready Management Program includes management capabilities that make virtualizing with VMware the best way to manage the datacenter:

• VMware management capabilities & APIs
  • VMware vCenter APIs for partners to access VMware Infrastructure management functionality (like monitoring, performance, provisioning, configuration, and operations)
  • Guidelines for integration methods and architecture
  • Additional management APIs as VMware makes available new management capabilities
• vCenter Server and VMware Infrastructure (VI) Client management console for virtualization management
• VI Client extensibility – partner plugins put partner management capabilities right into the VI Client UI
• vCenter APIs available through the vCenter Server provide platform for integration of partner management capabilities to extend VMware management

VMware Ready Management Program will deliver simple, integrated solutions with partners for end-to-end management including solutions for (examples):

• Monitoring
• Performance
• Provisioning
• Configuration
• Operations
• Compliance
• Capacity
• Chargeback
• more

The VMware Ready Management Program includes a new, tiered qualification program to help validate that integrated solutions from partners follow VMware guidelines and successfully pass interoperability testing with VMware Infrastructure. Partner products passing qualification will be allowed to use the VMware Ready Optimized logo, where Optimized signifies that the qualifying products provide optimized levels of integration, functionality, or performance.This assurance will accelerate implementation of qualified management solutions and help customers reduce IT expenses.

BMC Software, CA, EMC, HP Software, IBM Tivoli, NetIQ, nworks (a veeam company), Quest Software, Symantec, and Tripwire are the first members of the program and will be delivering qualified partner solutions as part of the new program. Management technology vendors who are members of VMware’s Technology Alliance Partner program with products meeting eligibility requirements may apply to qualify products as VMware Ready Management Solutions.

The VMware Ready Management Program qualification process reviews partner product interoperability using vCenter APIs and following VMware guidelines for integrated management solutions.

VMware announced the VMware Ready Management Program™ on September 15th, 2008.  The VMware vCenter Extensibility Technologies (APIs and UI plug-in architecture) are available immediately. VMware-integrated partner solutions are available from Technology Alliance Partners today. Participating partners will qualify their management products, and once qualified, appear in the VMware Ready Management Program solutions catalog.

Visit the VMware Ready Management Program web site to find out more. The URL for this website is: http://www.vmware.com/go/vcenter