Does Hyperflex, deployment with vcenter 8.01u work without p

[jeff.oak]

Hello, team!

Doubtful, with version 5.5, if you install it with vcenter 8.01U, the integration is transparent, even without the plugin?

VMware local plugin architecture: Support is limited to vSphere versions 6.5, 6.7, and 7.0. For more information, see the vSphere Client Local plugins are deprecated (87880) article on the VMware site.

Version	VMware vCenter Versions for M5 Servers	VMware vCenter Versions for M6 Servers
5.5(1a)	7.0 U2, 7.0 U3, 8.0 U1	7.0 U2, 7.0 U3, 8.0 U1

Or is it mandatory to stay on the vcenter 7.03u version, which has the hyperflex plugin option?

[RedNectar · Accepted solution]

Hi @jeff.oak ,

You can install and use HyperFlex 5.5 successfully using vCenter v8.0 u1, but you won't be able to use the vCenter plugin at all.

This means you'll have to revert to using HyperFlex connect to do simple things like cloning and snapshots. Which is a PIA.

Personally, if I was using HyperFlex I'd prefer to stay with vCenter v7 and use the HyperFlex plugin for vCenter.  Cisco have assured one of my customers that there is a v8 plugin coming, but that promise was before Cisco dumped HyperFlex in favour of Nutanix.

https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/14/cisco_discontinues_hyperflex_hci/

[jeff.oak]

Thank you, my friend for the support! Doubt clarified, I kept version 7.0.3!

[Riaan van Niekerk]

I highly doubt that Cisco will release a remote HX plugin, esp. with HX being EOL’d in a couple of years and what focus there is on HX being moved to Intersight.

vCenter 7.0 will reach end of general support on 2025-04-02 after which you either

1. run unsupported on vSphere 7
2. need to purchase (very expensive) VMware extended support for vSphere 7
3. upgrade to vSphere 8.0 and live without the plug-in.

We are taking option 3. In preparation will “de-productise” administrative tasks via the HX plug-in on our current HXDP 5.0 / vSphere 7.0 based deployments, e.g. we will leave it installed, but all operational tasks should be performed via HX Connect and HXDP native tools rather than relying on the HX plug-in. If an administrator is stuck with a particular task via HX Connect or hxcli/stcli, we will try find a workaround or solution that does not entail using the plug-in. That way, we know what to expect and how to operate by the time the plug-in is no longer an option. 

Aside: the KB article vSphere Client Local plugins are deprecated (87880) is very confusing, since it talks about the next major version of vSphere (it means vSphere 8.0 which at the time of writing the article, had not been announced or released). When I found this article a year ago, I always understood the article as the next major version (after 8.0, which had been released by then). I suggested an improvement to the article to mention 8.0 explicitly. 

[Riaan van Niekerk]

Great news (and it completely negates my previous comments):

Cisco released the Cisco HyperFlex Remote Plugin for VMware vCenter End of December (announcement with download and user guide). Additional resource/technote: Deploy HyperFlex Remote Plugin - Deployment Guide.

ps: We are staying on ESXi 7.3 & HyperFlex 5.0 until Cisco release HX 5.5(2b) (expected in a couple of months) which will

• be an LTS (long-term support) release 
• support vSphere 8.0 U2