Evaluate

Evaluate

Weigh the pros and cons of technologies, products and projects you are considering.

• Automation tools for virtualization provisioning: Weighing the options

  When choosing automation tools for your virtualization provisioning, carefully weigh all options to ensure that you get the most bang for your buck. Continue Reading

• How virtual security appliances and tools protect a data center

  Virtual security appliances and tools keep the bad guys out. But vendors approach virtual security differently and not every tool may suit your needs. Continue Reading

• Virtualizing applications and virtual server migration best practices

  Virtualizing applications is great for ROI. With virtual server migrations and virtual appliances, you can recoup your investment even faster. Continue Reading

• Agent-based vs. host-based backups: Has the market shifted?

  Host-based virtualization backup tools were all the rage, but now agent-based backups offer great performance while eliminating complexity. Continue Reading

• Virtualization 2012: Hyper-V 3 vs. vSphere 5 showdown looms

  If Hyper-V 3 comes to market as expected by the end of this year, users say it will give VMware’s vSphere 5 a run for its money -- literally. Continue Reading

• Hyper-V Replica: New VM replication tool for cost-conscious IT shops

  Hyper-V Replica, the new VM replication feature in Microsoft’s next hypervisor, is a free and viable disaster recovery tool for SMBs and enterprises.Continue Reading

• Fibre Channel vs. Ethernet: Is the storage networking war over?

  In virtualized data centers, Ethernet is rapidly replacing Fibre Channel as the preferred shared storage transport mechanism. Here’s why.Continue Reading

• Q&A: Network virtualization benefits and challenges

  An expert explains the technical process behind network virtualization and the difference between internal and external virtual networks.Continue Reading

• Choosing a virtualization hypervisor: Eight factors to consider

  Whether you choose a hosted or bare-metal hypervisor, consider performance, cost, reliability and more as you pick a virtualization hypervisor.Continue Reading

• Off-site storage for virtualization: Pros and cons of remote storage

  If you really want to protect your data, get rid of it. Transferring data to off-site storage can be a solid virtualization storage strategy.Continue Reading

• FAQ: Virtual server clustering and the benefits of an HA cluster

  If you want to ease VM management and server failover, create a virtual server cluster. Server clustering allows VMs to migrate to other hosts.Continue Reading

• Virtualization storage performance monitoring: Metrics and tools

  Storage performance monitoring ensures that you’re warned of low storage capacity and that you’re up to date on virtualization storage usage trends.Continue Reading

• FAQ: Virtual testing and development environments

  A virtual testing and development environment lets you test OSes and applications before deployment. You can even build a virtual test lab at home.Continue Reading

• To consolidate or not to consolidate: Resource-intensive applications

  That is the question… Should you consolidate servers with resource-intensive apps? Not necessarily. They'll have to share resources with multiple VMs.Continue Reading

• Dynamic storage allocation with thin provisioning: Pros and cons

  Allocating virtualization storage is easy with thin provisioning. But this dynamic storage allocation method can complicate storage management.Continue Reading

• Network virtualization technology FAQ

  Network virtualization lets you break one physical network into many virtual networks or combine physical networks into one virtual network.Continue Reading

• Pros and cons of iSCSI storage networking in virtual infrastructures

  ISCSI provides simplicity for virtualization storage networking, but iSCSI performance, network design, security and cost can present challenges.Continue Reading

• Why choose Fibre Channel for virtualization storage networking?

  Fibre Channel offers great storage networking performance and security, but cost and complexity can be deal-breakers when deciding whether to implement a Fibre Channel SAN.Continue Reading

• Hyper-V dynamic memory allocation vs. VMware memory overcommit

  VMware memory overcommit and the Hyper-V dynamic memory allocation feature have similarities, but the user experience is completely different.Continue Reading

• Successful virtualization strategies learned from the airline industry

  This is your captain speaking: Successful strategies from the airline industry can work just as well in virtual infrastructures.Continue Reading

• KVM reignites Type 1 vs. Type 2 hypervisor debate

  An IBM distinguished engineer says there are major misconceptions about whether KVM is a Type 1 or Type 2 hypervisor. IT pros, meanwhile, worry about support and compatibility.Continue Reading

• Virtual server backup and recovery FAQ

  Restoring VM data quickly requires a solid virtual server backup method. Snapshots, deduplication and third-party tools can help you achieve VM backup success.Continue Reading

• Got multiple virtualization vendors? Learn to convert virtual disks

  Virtualization vendors don’t have virtual disk format standards. If you use multiple virtualization platforms, you’ll have to convert from one vendor’s disk format to another’s.Continue Reading

• Top 10 virtualization management tools

  There are lots of virtualization management tools out there, but which ones are right for your infrastructure? Here are 10 tools data center managers should consider.Continue Reading

• Windows VSS virtual machine backup strategies: Hyper-V vs. VMware

  For a strong virtual machine backup strategy, Windows VSS must 'play nice' with other host components. But it works differently in VMware and Hyper-V environments.Continue Reading

• Endpoint virtualization vs. server virtualization: Server requirements

  Endpoint virtualization is a new level of server virtualization, but there are some important differences in the two implementations and how end users interact with the server.Continue Reading

• Vblock vs. FlexPod: What's the difference?

  VMware and Cisco now have two pre-designed IT stacks on the market, one with EMC and one with NetApp. Is there a big difference between them? And what's still missing from both?Continue Reading

• Virtual application performance testing: An art form

  Application performance testing reveals how virtualized applications will perform in production. Consider user experience, vendor requirements and factors that affect performance.Continue Reading

• FAQ: Devising a server consolidation plan

  A server consolidation plan should optimize server capacity. A well-devised server consolidation project eliminates physical servers that waste resources and rack up hardware costs.Continue Reading

• High-availability architecture: Redundancy vs. abstraction

  If you're getting more involved with virtualization, you may want to take another look at your high-availability architecture. Redundancy and abstraction can help prevent problems.Continue Reading

• Hyper-V Dynamic Memory vs. VMware memory overcommit

  Memory allocation can be a guessing game in virtualized environments. Hyper-V Dynamic Memory and VMware memory overcommit tackle the problem in different ways.Continue Reading

• FAQ: Virtual applications pros and cons

  Virtual applications reduce hardware costs and ease application deployment. But there's a lot to consider when you virtualize mission-critical applications.Continue Reading

• Virtualization hypervisor comparison: Type 1 vs. Type 2 hypervisors

  This virtualization hypervisor comparison takes a look at the Type 1 hypervisor, which enables hardware virtualization, and the Type 2 hypervisor, which runs atop existing OSes.Continue Reading

• Lifecycle management: Physical vs. virtual machines

  Lifecycle management in a virtual infrastructure poses a few more challenges than you're used to. Without proper lifecycle management, you could end up with VM sprawl.Continue Reading

• Virtual machine migration FAQ: Live migration, P2V and more

  Virtual machine migration offers many benefits, but it can be complicated. Luckily, several tools can help you migrate a virtual machine and address security concerns.Continue Reading

• Top conversion tools for virtual machine migration

  Conversion tools from hypervisor vendors and third-party companies can help you overcome virtual machine migration challenges. Find out which conversion tools are right for you.Continue Reading

• Red Hat vs. Ubuntu KVM virtualization: Which is best?

  Red Hat and Ubuntu KVM technologies share similar architecture, but the management features available for Red Hat KVM sets the distribution apart.Continue Reading

• VMware's single pane of glass vs. Hyper-V's management consoles

  Managing virtualization through a single pane of glass is all the rage these days, but as VMware expert Mike Laverick discovers, Hyper-V requires multiple management consoles.Continue Reading

• Virtual server migration tools

  This section of our virtual server migration guide outlines various virtual server migration tools for virtualization environments and outlines the pros and cons of manual, semi-automated and fully automated server migration tools.Continue Reading

• Server colocation vs. segmentation for test and dev, production

  Some experts say server colocation is an easy way to save money. Others say it lets your testing and development environment drain resources from production applications.Continue Reading

• ESX vs. ESXi: Which VMware hypervisor is right for you?

  ESX vs. ESXi is a big decision. The ESXi hypervisor is catching on with vSphere users and those new to virtualization, but ESX is still the VMware hypervisor of choice for many.Continue Reading

• VMware vs. VirtualBox: Which is better for host-based virtualization?

  Which is better: VirtualBox or VMware Workstation? Workstation is tightly integrated with VMware's suite, but VirtualBox is open source. Two virtualization experts weigh in.Continue Reading

• Xen virtualization vs. KVM virtualization architecture

  Xen virtualization and KVM virtualization architecture differ. If you're considering open source virtualization, this section of our guide explores these virtualization technologies.Continue Reading

• ISCSI vs. NFS for virtualization shared storage

  Virtualization experts debate ISCSI vs. NFS for shared storage in a virtual environment.Continue Reading

• Face-off: Generic VMware vSwitch vs. Cisco Nexus 1000V

  When it comes to comparing Cisco Nexus 1000v with the VMware vSwitch, two experts can't seem to agree which of the two is superior. Read both their sides and form your own opinion!Continue Reading

• Pros and cons of bundling hardware and software together

  Members of our Server Virtualization Advisory Board discuss the Virtual Computing Environment coalition and ponder the value of bundling hardware and software together.Continue Reading

• The top free VMware scripting and command-line tools

  This section of our virtualization freeware guide explains how free VMware scripting and command-line tools such as VMware PowerCLI automate key vSphere administration tasks.Continue Reading

• VMware products and features: An overview

  Perplexed by the steady stream of VMware products? This overview dissects VMware features and product bundles and helps identify if VMware suits your virtualization environment.Continue Reading

• VMware vSphere products and features

  Are you looking for a reality check on what VMware vSphere editions offer feature-wise? An expert breaks down the capabilities, pricing and installation concerns of vSphere versions.Continue Reading

• Virtual machine performance monitoring approaches and tools

  To gauge virtual machine performance or detect failure, decide whether to monitor from inside or outside a VM and then choose a monitoring tool that works with your hypervisor.Continue Reading

• The pros and cons of clustered virtual host environments

  A Hyper-V clustered virtual host environment offers benefits, including enhanced server availability. But you still need to weigh whether clustered hosts are worth your IT department's time.Continue Reading

• Fixed vs. dynamic disks for Hyper-V virtual machines

  As you provision new virtual machines in Hyper-V, you face a key choice: whether to select fixed-size or dynamically expanding disks. This tip explains each disk type's tradeoffs.Continue Reading

• Xen vs. KVM Linux virtualization hypervisors

  Which side wins in the Xen vs. KVM Linux virtualization hypervisor debate? Two IT experts weigh-in with their Xen-KVM comparisons.Continue Reading

• Blades vs. rack servers for virtualization

  In this face-off, two veteran IT professionals debate blade vs. rack-mount servers, explaining the strengths and weaknesses of each in relation to virtual environments.Continue Reading

• Using virtual servers for disaster recovery: The pros and cons

  Want to learn how to have a safe business continuity platform? This article teaches you how to better understand disaster recovery procedures using a virtualization server.Continue Reading

• The five best free tools for Microsoft Hyper-V management

  Microsoft's Hyper-V makes virtualization easier for IT organizations of all sizes, but these free tools can improve virtual machine management.Continue Reading

• Blades vs. rack servers: Basic purchasing principles still apply

  Both blade servers and rack-mount servers offer advantages in a virtual environment. But whichever host hardware you choose, remember the basic principles of hardware purchasing.Continue Reading

• Application virtualization with VMware ThinApp

  VMware's ThinApp technology can increase application compatibility in Windows environments. An expert explains the virtues of application virtualization and explains how to configure a virtual application with ThinApp.Continue Reading

• The 10 best virtual infrastructure management tools

  Virtual infrastructure management tools have flooded the market, but only 10 make our expert's list. Learn about the capabilities and benefits of these 10 tools.Continue Reading

• Hyper-V vs. VMware: Which is cheaper?

  On paper, Microsoft's Hyper-V costs less than VMware ESXi, but several gotchas drive up its overall cost.Continue Reading

• Using the Microsoft Assessment and Planning tool in Hyper-V environments

  The Microsoft Assessment and Planning toolkit can be used for Hyper-V consolidation planning and migrations. Learn how to install and use MAPContinue Reading

• Internal vs. external guest virtual machine storage

  What's the best option for guest virtual machine storage: internal VM storage with Virtual Machine Disk Formats, or VMDKs, or external VM storage with iSCSI? An expert weighs the pros and cons of both methods.Continue Reading

• Citrix releases Project Kensho virtual appliance import/export tool

  Using the Open Virtualization Format standard, Citrix Systems' Project Kensho toolkit packages virtual appliances so they can be used on different hypervisors and clouds.Continue Reading

• Monitor VMware ESX with third-party applications

  Performance monitoring tools, including those from Hyperic and Microsoft, provide better analysis than VMware's standard tool set. This guide reviews the virtualization performance management offerings that are compatible with ESX and with other ...Continue Reading

• Paravirtualization pros and cons

  Expert Bernard Golden takes a look at the strengths and weaknesses of paravirtualization in this expert response.Continue Reading

• Virtual appliances: The risks and benefits

  As server virtualization continues to gain acceptance, vendors and customers feel more and more confident to use it for a variety of tasks and not just to support for legacy applications and server consolidation. One more recent use for server ...Continue Reading

• Microsoft Virtual Server vs. Virtual PC

  Microsoft has two virtualization offerings -- Virtual Server 2005 and Virtual PC -- that are both great products at a great price (free). So which one is better? It depends what you want to do.Continue Reading

• Which servers and applications are good virtualization candidates?

  In this article, Anil Desai offers guidelines for deciding whether or not an application or server should be virtualized.Continue Reading

• Comparing VMware ESX, VMware Server, Microsoft Virtual Server, Xen and XenEnterprise: Technical spec

  Don't just look at products when choosing a server virtualization platform, says expert Andrew Kutz. He cover technical specifications and support in part two of his four-part series. The series offers a thorough analysis and comparison of the ...Continue Reading