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Taking charge of VM allocation, troubleshooting methods
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Memory allocation made easy with these techniques
Achieve better resource utilization with memory overcommitment, dynamic memory, memory ballooning, memory compression, transparent page sharing, memory mirroring and more. View Now
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Article
Simplify management with a Proxmox resource pool
It's easier for virtualization admins to manage compute and storage resources for VMs, assign user roles and eliminate resource waste when resources are organized into pools. Read Now
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Evaluate what you have for capacity planning purposes
You need a thorough understanding of the VMs and resources you currently have in your virtual infrastructure before you can realistically plan for future business needs. Read Now
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Expert tips on capacity planning for virtualization
Monitor and manage your resource use by following these five quick tips. They include insight on why capacity planning is so challenging and answers to commonly asked questions. Read Now
Editor's note
Virtualization admins are responsible for ensuring data center operations are running smoothly, but as with most jobs in IT, that's easier said than done. Virtual infrastructures are made up of many moving parts -- virtual machines, applications, workloads and so on -- and even a small problem left unresolved can lead to downtime or system failure.
Admins need to make sure their hardware resources can support the virtual machines (VMs) they need to run, and that their environments can scale as workloads increase. As more organizations consider virtualizing mission-critical workloads, and the IT industry shifts toward a software-defined future, getting the highest VM performance is becoming even more important.
As such, effective data center management needs to include capacity planning, VM allocation, troubleshooting methods and the right monitoring tools. This essential guide will cover the basics, as well as more advanced tips for admins to optimize server and VM performance.
1Choose proper management tools
As virtualization infrastructures grow in size and complexity, they're becoming more difficult to manage. Although there are tools that can help virtualization admins better manage their VMs and workloads, selecting the best tool can be a challenge. Even after doing careful research and choosing a management tool, admins need to plan for implementation. Make sure you're laying the proper groundwork to take full advantage of these tools.
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Make managing VMware environments easier with automation
Admins can integrate tools like vSphere 6.5, vRealize Automation 7 and vSphere Update Manager to help ease management, but they need to prepare for workflow changes. Read Now
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Server virtualization management tools explained
Learn more about what server virtualization management tools do, the options available in the marketplace, and how they can help admins manage large and complex infrastructures. Read Now
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Select the best task automation tool for your workloads
Consider the cost of different vendor platforms, the features and functionalities they offer, and the platforms with which they integrate when choosing an IT automation tool. Read Now
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Answers to common questions about server automation tools
Understand the data center challenges that can be solved with server automation tools, what capabilities these tools should have, and whether a suite or point tool is the better option. Read Now
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New automation and virtualization tools help with VM provisioning
Better tools are accelerating virtualization adoption and enhancing approaches to VM provisioning by incorporating more automation. Read Now
2Troubleshoot common virtual infrastructure problems
Finding an issue in the data center is one thing, but solving the problem is another matter entirely. Unfortunately, both tasks can be challenging and time-consuming, as performance issues can be caused by any number of things, including overprovisioning and VM sprawl. By implementing best practices and taking advantage of certain tools, virtualization admins can minimize downtime and get data center operations back to normal.
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Troubleshoot performance problems caused by vCPU issues
Overprovisioning, poor vCPU selection and assignment to VMs are just a few things that cause performance problems in virtual environments. Use these strategies to address issues. Read Now
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Tools and tips to ease the VM troubleshooting process
With tools like Windows Performance Monitor and proven strategies for managing memory, CPU and disk usage, admins can more easily investigate and solve performance issues. Read Now
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Find problems in your data center with log analysis tools
Benefits of log analysis tools include large-scale data collection, a search index, and insight into applications and the virtual network. A cloud service can be costly, though. Read Now
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Avoid wasted resources by preventing overprovisioning
Throwing resources at a workload in an effort to fix performance problems wastes capacity, costs money, and it can even exacerbate current problems. Learn to right-size VMs instead. Read Now
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VM sprawl control and prevention best practices
Develop a VM allocation policy, use automated reporting to keep track of resource use, consider lifecycle management tools, create a VM library and try VM archiving. Read Now
3Learn key VM allocation and troubleshooting terms
An essential part of allocating VM resources and troubleshooting performance problems is knowing the related terminology. Read on to familiarize yourself with some important terms.
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Definition
capacity planning
In information technology, capacity planning is the science and art of estimating the space, computer hardware, software and connection infrastructure resources that will be needed over some future period of time. Read Now
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Definition
resource allocation
Resource allocation is the process of assigning and managing assets in a manner that supports an organization's strategic goals. Read Now
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Definition
troubleshooting
Troubleshooting is a systematic approach to problem solving that is often used to find and correct issues with complex machines, electronics, computers and software systems. The first step in troubleshooting is gathering information on the issue, such as an undesired behavior or a lack of expected functionality. Read Now
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Definition
memory overcommit
Memory overcommit (or overcommitment) is a hypervisor feature that allows a virtual machine (VM) to use more memory space than the physical host has available. Read Now
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Definition
dynamic memory allocation
Dynamic memory allocation is a memory management technique in which a program can request and return memory while it is executing. Read Now
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Definition
virtual memory ballooning
Virtual memory ballooning allows a physical host to recapture unused memory on its guest virtual machines and allocate the resource where needed. Read Now
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Definition
transparent page sharing
Transparent page sharing (TPS) is a memory management technology in virtualization. Read Now
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Definition
memory mirroring
Memory mirroring is the division of memory on a server into two channels. The first channel is mirrored to the second channel, creating a redundant copy of memory. Read Now
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Definition
bottleneck
A bottleneck is a stage in a process that causes the entire process to slow down or stop. In a communications context, a bottleneck is a point in the enterprise where the flow of data is impaired or stopped entirely... (Continued) Read Now
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Definition
IT automation
IT automation is the use of instructions to create a repeated process that replaces an IT professional's manual work in data centers and cloud deployments. Read Now
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Definition
vSphere Update Manager
VMware vSphere Update Manager (VUM) is software that manages vSphere versions, installs and updates third-party ESX/ESXi host extensions, automates the patch and upgrade process on ESX/ESXi hosts, and performs upgrades to virtual appliances, VMware Tools and virtual machine hardware. Read Now
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Definition
Windows Performance Monitor
The Microsoft Windows Performance Monitor is a tool that admins can use to examine how programs running on their computers affect their performance. Read Now
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Definition
log
A log, in a computing context, is the automatically produced and time-stamped documentation of events relevant to a particular system. Virtually all software applications and systems produce log files. Read Now
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Definition
virtualization sprawl
Virtualization sprawl is a phenomenon that occurs when the number of virtual machines (VMs) on a network reaches a point where the administrator can no longer manage them effectively. Read Now