AWS cuts its own set of keys to VMware's vCenter kingdom

Updated plugin seeks permission to update itself automatically

When Amazon Web Services (AWS) last year released the AWS Management Portal for vCenter we described it as a “stealth biz stealer” because it gave AWS a way to give VMware admins a way to run virtual machines in the Amazon cloud and manage them with vCenter.

That's not quite VMware's script for the way things run in the vWorld: Virtzilla is happiest when you run a hybrid cloud with the elastic bits in vCloud Air because it thinks IT works best when everything looks and feels the same. VMware knows there are other public clouds out there and can't stop AWS or anyone else releasing plugins to hook in other clouds and delivering the same workloads-everywhere-with-one-control-freak experience it prizes.

AWS' upgrade to the plugin therefore won't see champagne corks popping in Palo Alto, as one new feature allows Amazon's code to update itself automatically. Users will therefore be presented with whatever new functionality AWS dreams up without even having to bother downloading new software.

Amazon's not saying what upgrades it has in mind, but it seems a safe bet to assume the company aspires to give VMware users more and easier ways to consume AWS services.

The upgrade also adds the ability to import vCenter logs to AWS and eliminates limits on migration jobs from on-premises workloads to the Amazon cloud.

VMware knows that competing with the likes of AWS will be hard – it said as much in its form 10K. But it's also found a neat way to work with cloudy rivals, by providing a single point of contact for vCloud Air users who choose to buy Google cloud services. That deal was clever because it gave VMware customers access to services and scale that Virtzilla doesn't have the cash or reach to create or operate.

AWS remains a threat but VMware walks its own path with great confidence. Moreover, our virtualisation desk hears the company believes the launch of vSphere 6.0 won't be the biggest piece of news it creates in 2015. Watch this space. ®