vRealize Automation 8.8: Enhancements and New Features
VMware has recently released vRealize Automation 8.8, which includes several enhancements and new features to improve the overall experience of using the software. In this blog post, we will explore these updates in detail and discuss how they can benefit your organization.
Multi-Level Approval Policies
One significant change in vRealize Automation 8.8 is the introduction of multi-level approval policies. Similar to vRealize Automation 7.x, you can now define approval policies that require multiple levels of approval. This change includes a completely revamped user interface for defining approval policies and API changes.
To configure multi-level approval policies in Service Broker, refer to the VMware documentation titled “Configure multi-level approval policies in Service Broker” for details.
Enhanced Custom Naming Support
Another notable feature in vRealize Automation 8.8 is the enhanced custom naming support. Custom Naming has been revamped to include expanded functionality, as discussed in the VMware Cloud Management Blog post titled “Cloud Assembly Custom naming re-imagined” for additional details.
Migration Assistant Supports Migrations from vRealize Automation 7.6 Only
This release only supports migrations from vRealize Automation 7.6. You may still assess previous vRealize Automation 7.x environments, but you must upgrade to 7.6 before executing the migration.
Azure Properties Under protectedSettings Are Now Encrypted
The Azure provisioning extension property under protectedSettings is now encrypted. This adds an additional layer of security to your Azure deployments.
Per Host/Cluster Memory Allocation Limits
A global configuration property has been added to set the maximum memory allocation amount on an individual host or cluster for the entire organization. This feature allows you to control the amount of memory that can be allocated to deployments, ensuring that your infrastructure is optimized and efficiently utilized.
Ability to Change Deployment Ownership to a Member of an Active Directory Group via Day 2 Action
Facilitate the change of a deployment owner to users belonging to Active Directory groups, such as project administrators or project members. This feature allows you to easily provide Active Directory groups access to vRealize Automation and move ownership between users.
Day 2 Operations for vSphere with Tanzu Kubernetes Grid (TKG) Clusters
When you have provisioned a Tanzu Kubernetes Cluster as a Deployment, you can execute one of these operations:
* Provisioning Now Supports an Approval Policy with a Limit > 2 Days
* The Project’s request timeout value has been disassociated with the allocation timeout for provisioning service objects, and vRealize Automation now sets that to a value greater than the maximum approval policy period. Customers should no longer see errors at provisioning time for objects pending approval for more than two days.
* The Request ID is Now Displayed in the Deployment Request History
The request ID is now displayed for each action on the Deployment History tab, allowing you to easily identify and track your requests.
Minor Feature Additions/Enhancements for vRealize Automation/vCloud Director Integration
vRealize Automation now supports the following vCloud Director actions:
* vRealize Orchestrator Legacy Presentation Support within vRealize Automation
* Ability to Provision NSX-T On-Demand VLAN Segments
With this feature, you can now provision NSX-T VLAN segments by specifying one or more VLAN IDs on private NSX network type. This can be used in cases where your overall design prohibits you from provisioning overlay networks on NSX-T.
For the list of resolved issues in vRealize Automation 8.8.0, check out the VMware vRealize Automation 8.8.0 Release Notes – Resolved Issues. For the list of resolved issues in vRealize Orchestrator 8.8.0, check out the VMware vRealize Orchestrator 8.8.0 Release Notes – Resolved Issues. For the list of resolved issues in vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager 8.8.0, check out the VMware vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager 8.8 Release Notes – Resolved Issues.
In conclusion, vRealize Automation 8.8 includes several enhancements and new features that can benefit your organization. These updates improve the overall experience of using the software and provide additional security, control, and ease of use. We recommend that you upgrade to vRealize Automation 8.8 to take advantage of these features and improvements.